LORAN SMITH: Books, booze and blaze cure what ails you

The winter time is not so bad for most of us, but there are always feelings of empathy for those who work outdoors in the cold. They are the same guys who are also out there in the elements when you could crack an egg on the sidewalk and see it sizzle until it is well done.

My idea of a great American is a roofer in July and August. Or a man working underneath the street in winter when it is sleeting above ground. Any man in those lines of work, grinding to feed his family and pay his bills, is a hero of mine. Then there is the jackhammer gang working in the elements with a cacophony of noise which can be heard 10 blocks away. When I read about the Big Dig in Boston, my mind’s eye saw men bundled up, championing manual labor below water level in winter. Bet they had frostbitten eyelashes.

If cold weather brings about colds, sinus complications and other respiratory challenges, how do those guys manage? Sometimes there is no sick leave. You don’t show up for work, you don’t get paid. I’m happy to say that I have never taken sick leave except to travel out of state to a specialty hospital. In each case, however, I left a warm and fuzzy environment for the trip and returned to the same circumstance.

Recently, I had a bout with a sinus infection which is something I remain apprehensive about every winter and spring. Out there in the atmosphere when it is cold and dry, I have to worry about that tell-tale cough which is a signal that a sinus infection is likely going to be companion soon. Same thing comes about during pollen season.

My doctor suggested that I start taking Claritin in March to ward off any potential sinus infection. Didn’t work. Taking Claritin on a daily basis was worse than being sick. Last spring I switched to Allegra. That seemed to work better, but I didn’t think about buddying up with Allegra during the recent holiday season. So, the infection came up like a summer thunderstorm. Only problem — it didn’t leave with the suddenness of a summer thunderstorm. My head began to swim, my chest began to fill and before you knew it, I was as weak and as compromised as a wet dishrag.

Food didn’t taste good. Red wine had no allure. When that happens, you know you are sick. Didn’t feel like going to the office. When I got there, the computer screen offered blurred images. The phone rang, and I bolted across the room like Nick Chubb moving downfield for a first down. It literally jarred me out of my chair. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. A friend called with a joke which I did not want to hear. I put the phone down while he dragged through his narration, leaving him perturbed when, following the punch line, he realized he was the only one laughing. Weakly, I said, “If I were in good health, I am sure that would be the funniest joke I have heard lately.”

During this time, I couldn’t remember where I left my briefcase. I got out a knife to halve a grapefruit one morning, the phone rang and I lost the knife. Later, I found it in the TV remote holder and kept wondering why the remote was on the breakfast table.

There is no immediate cure for a sinus infection. You just have to let it wear out, which seems to take longer as I get older. In this condition, my experience is that there is no immediate relief. Not sure if it works for everybody, but I lay all work aside, opened up a bottle of scotch, built a fire and, in my stupor which was akin to a foggy hangover, read a couple of books and began a third one. Hate that I had to get sick to spend a couple of days by the fire and books within arm’s length.

The first book was the memoir of George H.W. Bush, our 41st president, by his son, George W. Bush. I have always liked 41 and like him even more after reading, “A Portrait of My Father.” Then I read the autobiography of sportscaster Al Michaels (with L. Jon Wertheim), “You can’t make this up.” Michaels has experienced many highs, managed his lows with aplomb and is still at the top of his game as the play-by-play announcer of “Sunday Night Football” on NBC. Through it all, he concludes, “I’ve never gotten jaded.” How uplifting! My sinus infection began to subside after that. You can’t keep a man down if he has firewood, libations and books.