I was given a melted popsicle from a local ice-cream seller while visiting a pagoda in the suburbs of Yangon/Rangoon. It was a bit of a surreal experience. The old man smiled so kindly as he eagerly handed it to me-he seemed so sweet. I was in the process of trying to find the vendor for the incense selling stall since I wanted to offer some incense to my shrine. In Burma/Myanmar they tell your horoscope by which day of the week you were born on. I am Sunday born and therefore my Burmese name must begin with an A and my special animal is the kalon which is half-beast and half-bird.

With my incense burning I bowed down three times before the Sunday shrine and made a wish for world peace and personal happiness while placing the incense into the sand in the pot at the base of the shrine. Without thinking I then tore open the bright blue melted popsicle and swallowed it. I lived in Asia most of my life and knew quite well the terror of typhoid and how to avoid it, so I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I was still young enough to think I was invincible.

Not surprising, in about 10 days I had a fever and threw up violently. Still I thought it was food poisoning and neglected getting any blood tests done. Finally one day I was so tired at about 2pm that I could hardly move, I realized I better go get tested for typhoid and sure enough the bacteria were colonizing my intestines. I was put on serious antibiotics the same day for ten days.

To be continued….