Les Jones

Home Life > The Croup

I've had a bad cough ever since I went backpacking two weekends ago. The temperature was down in the 40s, I was congested, and I breathed cold air through my mouth all night. The next day I woke up with a hoarse cough that's gotten worse.

I've decided what I've got is the croup, because that's the funniest disease name I could think of. The croup sounds like a disease you get from watching Little House on the Prairie. Any minute now I'll probably break out in dropsy and consumption. I can't decide if I should treat it with patent medicine or a good old-fashioned poultice.