Cliffhanger

For those of you of a certain age, you will remember the cliffhanger; a dramatic invention most likely to be found at the end of a multipart serial shown at the movie theater. For your 25 cents (or 10 cents if you are really old), you got a double feature, a cartoon, a newsreel, and a serial.

Flash Gordon, Gene Autry in the Phantom Empire, Superman, and even Commander Cody thrilled us with their multipart adventures, each leaving us in suspense as the hero is about to meet his doom . . .

For those slightly younger, this tradition was carried on in the mid-1960's with the Batman TV show.

Why am I waxing nostalgic, and what does this have to do with Avian flu?

Simple. I’m leaving again for a week or 10 days, once again on a cross-country trip to see my doctor in Missouri. I’ll be leaving you tomorrow, and will likely not return until near the first of the month. And as I leave, the avian flu news continues it’s ominous beat. Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and virtual silence from deepest, darkest Africa.

While I don’t expect a pandemic to erupt during my absence (it would be somewhat problematic for me if it did), I would urge my regular readers to remain alert, and to follow the flu news closely. Indonesia may turn out to be another brush fire, destined to self-extinguish itself as the virus comes to a genetic dead-end. But then again, we could be seeing the beginnings of a significant outbreak.

Stay tuned. And come back for the thrilling answer to that question, and many others next week.

Same Bat-time. Same Bat Channel.

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