Jessie and I are both sick with a cold right now. The last time this happened was over six months ago, just at the time we moved to Emporia. In the intervening six months I didn't get sick even once, even though Jessie brought home a variety of ailments from the University, especially in January... but back to last August. It was a cold of truly marvelous speed and severity and contagiousness, and it hit us at a pivotal time in our lives, and the story has not yet been properly told. So here it is, based on the notes I took at the time.