What's Up, Doc? 🤧😷🤒

The Ick = Such A Dick

Like a lot of guys, I do my best to steer clear of the doctor’s office. Not because I think I’m invincible, but because…if I can walk, breathe, and take care of business, that’s usually good enough for me. I've gone years between checkups, convincing myself that staying out of a waiting room is practically a form of wellness.

That’s changed recently. I’m now a semi-regular—if impatient—patient. Thanks to my high blood pressure (fun), which has forced me to pay more attention to my body.

But today, I’m heading back again—this time for a tag team of seasonal allergies and an upper respiratory infection that just won’t quit.

My sneezing fits sound like a fireworks show. My itchy eyes make me look like I’ve just finished watching Old Yeller. And my cough is so persistent I feel like I have a stalker.

At first, I chalked it all up to allergies. Pollen’s been brutal this season, and I figured a couple of OTC antihistamines would clear things up. Nope.

After a week of trying the “old” way, I’m ready for real, lasting relief.

Instead, I graduated from allergy fatigue to chest congestion, a sore throat, and that telltale “something’s not right” feeling. OTC meds give me short bursts of relief, but nothing lasting. Days turned into a week. Then another.

And now I’m Googling things like “how long can you ignore an upper respiratory infection before your lungs turn into soup?” (Don’t Google that, by the way.)

So here I am, on my way to see the doc again—grudgingly, yes, but with the awareness that this is the grown-up move.

Because the truth is the difference between seasonal allergies and summer colds can make it hard to know what you’re dealing with. They share a lot of the same symptoms—runny nose, fatigue, sneezing, congestion. But if OTC treatments aren’t working and you’re starting to feel worse instead of better, it’s probably time to call in the pros.

So, what’s up, doc? Hopefully, answers. Maybe antibiotics. And a reminder that taking care of yourself isn’t something you “tough out”—it’s something you lean into.

If you’ve been putting off a visit yourself, let this be a friendly reminder. You don’t get bonus points for suffering silently, boo. Stay healthy out there. And keep that doctor’s number on speed dial if needed.

Keep calm and fingers cross the doctor can work it out!
Clint 🌈✌️

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FYC = STORIES + SUBSTACKS

• A Ranchero Of One's Own (Sitting Queerly)

• Palangeau Park: Episode 12 (PalCinema, Television, & Music)

• Feeding the Fight… (Qstack | The LGBTQIA+ Directory of Substacks)

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ON THIS DAY = JUNE 16

BIRTHDAYS

• 1829 = Geronimo = Native American military leader and medicine man

• 1875 = Henry Paget = British nobleman and eccentric 🌈

• 1890 = Stan Laurel = English actor and comedian

• 1917 = Irving Penn = American photographer

• 1917 = Katharine Graham = American publisher

• 1930 = Vilmos Zsigmond = Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer

• 1934 = Bill Cobbs = American actor

• 1935 = Jim Dine = American painter and illustrator

• 1938 = Joyce Carol Oates = American writer

• 1946 = Mark Ritts = American actor, puppeteer, and producer

• 1949 = Jaime Manrique = Colombian-American writer, educator, and translator 🌈

• 1951 = Lou Sullivan = American author and trans activist 🌈

• 1955 = Laurie Metcalf = American actor

• 1957 = Ian Buchanan = Scottish-American actor

• 1967 = Jenny Shimizu = American model and actor 🌈

• 1971 = Tupac Shakur = American rapper and producer

• 1972 = John Cho = American actor

• 1973 = Eddie Cibrian = American actor

• 1991 = Joe McElderry = British singer and model 🌈

EVENTS

• 1884 = The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park.

• 1904 = Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday."

• 1960 = Psycho premieres in NYC.

• 1972 = RCA releases David Bowie's fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

• 1978 = Grease is released in theaters.

• 1995 = The Astronomy Picture of the Day website is launched.

• 1997 = Radiohead releases their landmark album OK Computer in the UK.

• 2008 = Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are the first same-sex couple to be legally married, in San Francisco, after a landmark ruling making California the second state to allow same-sex marriage went into effect.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• Bloomsday (Dublin, Ireland)

• National Fudge Day

• Pride Month (ongoing)

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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is the one they would like to show to the world... Every so often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe.”
Irving Penn

“Using simple equipment and daylight alone is for me a pleasure and a replenishment.”
Irving Penn