April 22, 2010
“Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?"--Jean Kerr, American author and playwright
Mostly it is the oak trees that make me sneeze, and the only consolation is that I am not alone in my misery.
Did you know that the words "pollen" and "allergy" are among the top 10 trending topics on Twitter in several U.S. cities?
Yes they are, and never have I noticed so many people sneezing. In fact, this spring machine-gun like "achoos" are happening everywhere--at the grocery store, the gas station, the office, in meetings and at school. You've heard them.
The culprit--pollen.
Experts say it is an unprecedented pollen "explosion", and they use words to describe it, such as "wicked" and "miserable" and "monster" and "the perfect storm".
It's a storm of pollen all right, one that leaves a fine, yellow or green dust on sidewalks, cars, decks and in your hair if you are outside much.
There is plenty of it, too, as allergy and asthma experts note that trees produce 3,000 to 6,000 particles per cubic meter; it only takes 10 particles to trigger an allergic reaction.
Laura Gaines decribes pollen quite colorfully in an article she wrote for American Forests magazine. "Pollen," she writes, "Is that downy dust that travels windswept across our yards and along streets. That wonderful gift of Mother Nature that allows trees to reproduce and survive. That lowdown sticky stuff that coats our cars, flies up our noses, and gets sucked down our throats to cause weeks of misery for over 14 million Americans every year."
In addition to their unwelcome gift of yellow dust, oak trees drop long, brown pods that look like dried worms. Nasty, in my opinion.
As you can see, I am not exactly in amor with pollen.
But there is someone who is--Jonathan Drori. His video presentation, "Every pollen grain has a story", is characterized by some critics as fascinating and beautiful and by others as strange and offbeat. He glorifies the beauty of microscopic pollen in what might as well be an "R" rated video about the mating habits of male and female pollen.
So I watched it for myself on "TED, Ideas worth spreading", and all I can say to him is "Gesundheit"!
This man is seriously in love with pollen!
Personally, I think sneezing should be an Olympic sport, and I could probably make the qualifier.
