I am taking the easy road this morning in this column because I got "it" and I hope you don't. "It" is the flu and it came on fast and furious Tuesday morning and hasn't let up as of Wednesday morning. I haven't taken two sick days in a row for a long time and hopefully I can rally after another day of rest, medicine and fluids. I will spare you the symptoms, saying only that if you get it, try not to spread it to someone else. Not fun.

I'd like to thank Officer Larry Brown of the Boothbay Harbor Police Department for alerting us this week about how Boothbay Region High School senior Dima Gosselin helped a person having a medical issue and waited around for emergency personnel to arrive. Thank you, too, Dima for doing that. I have written some not so nice articles about high school kids' actions and it was nice to write about your concern for the person.

Winter is far from over, but it sure has been nice not to shovel a lot, especially our low-pitched roof. Feel bad for the plow guys and gals who depend on moving the snow for extra money or to pay for the plow. Maybe February will be "the month" for moving snow. As I mentioned at the start of the season, if you have the time and energy to help a neighbor move their snow, please do.

The high school basketball season has moved into the second half and our girls and boys teams have competed well. The girls don't have much competition in the Mountain Valley Conference, having raced out to a 10-0 record and having only one game that could've gone either way in the second half. The boys have been up and down but I am sure Coach Pinkham will get them ready for an upset or two for the post-season tournament. Good luck the rest of the way, Seahawks.

Lastly, why do all the great games on TV end around midnight? I really wanted Clemson to win the college football championship (just because Alabama has been there several times before of late). I couldn't stay up, but thanks to the internet, I got to see all the great plays in the final five minutes of the game the next day. And yes, Clemson (my nephew's alma mater) won!