I have said before that I think the world is a scary place. There’s a lot of bad shit going on right now. The largest EBOLA outbreak in history, happening in West Africa, has caused me some alarm.

Now I first learned about Ebola back in 1994 when I read “The Hot Zone,” written by Richard Preston. This is an incredibly compelling, horrifying read. I started the book one evening after putting my daughter to bed, and stayed up until about 4:00 a.m. to finish it because I literally could not put it down – I found it to be absolutely riveting. This would be some of the best horror/science fiction ever written, except for the fact that it is real. If you haven’t read it, you might want to just to be enlightened (or scared shitless!).

With global travel what it is, and the ways AIDS spread, I have always worried about Ebola and Marburg viruses. Except for a case back in 1989, involving monkeys, I don’t believe Ebola has ever been reported in the U.S. – though I could be wrong about that.

Several U.S. national labs have samples of the Ebola virus and are working to create a vaccination. Yesterday they flew one of two American health care workers who have gotten the virus to Atlanta, Georgia. That hasn’t gone over to well with many Americans. I have pretty mixed feelings about it myself, because quite frankly, IT FREAKS ME OUT!! This is a nasty, and I mean nasty disease and a horrifying way to die. Not trying to be a fear-monger like the mainstream media usually is, all the time freaking people out to go and do – translate BUY – something, but this is some frightening shit.

I do believe they would get better treatment here in the states and I know the hospital in Atlanta has planned and trained for this exact mission, or one similar. (Isn’t that the saying – plan, train, fly?) And I am sure this exposure will provide many opportunities for many things – good and bad. Yeah, I’m a realist. They can study, dissect/DNA map/etc., and try to find a vaccination, maybe even discover something to help cure those who have it. They can also use this experience to intermingle this new strain with the samples they have, I’m assuming. They could do a lot of things with that – lots of research. I’m not a healthcare professional, but I do find all things medical fascinating.

I think the virus has up to a 21-day incubation period. I worry someone is going to expose others, maybe not even anyone working at the Emory University Hospital, but a healthcare worker from that part of the world traveling to other parts. Those in charge seem to think they can contain the virus and prevent the risk of the virus spreading. I hope they are right, because it only takes one unidentified infected person to spread this virus globally, and under the right conditions this is a ticking time bomb – especially in highly and densely populated areas.

I don’t know – there are a lot of worrisome things going on right now. I wonder, has it always been this bad and scary out there and I just wasn’t paying attention, OR is it really worse . . . or both I would imagine . . .

Anyway, what do you think about this Ebola crisis? Have you read the book I mentioned? Does a disease that can, for lack of a better term, liquefy organs and cause one to bleed out from various orifices in their body cause you any alarm? Damn, am I overreacting?

Just something I was thinking about . . .