In the movie The Sweet Bird Of Youth,a story by Playwright Tennessee Williams adapted tothe screen, the theme was how youth was fleeting and flew away just like a vain bird into oblivion. It starred Paul Newman as a gigolo wanna-be movie star whose youth and the chance for the last big break were fading, and Geraldine Page as the aging star whose youth and status had faded.

The never been and has been fed off one another by getting into a relationship from hell, vampiring one another for their own vanity-for the glory of a fading and faded youth. Indeed, youth is like a bird, graceful, proud and vain, soaring into the great unknown as they leave those watching in breathless awe. But youth, its glory, its beauty are fleeting and fading or as someone told me "Beauty is only skin deep but ugly is to the bone and when beauty fades ugly holds its own." True people can get Plastic Surgery and some stretch their faces into Voodoo masks, but it's not youth, for youth is the mind and a newness like a baby. Thus we must savior our Sweet Bird Of Youth and protect others Sweet Bird Of Youth.

And that is why we must be vigilant fighting this disease because it has the potential to bust the dreams of the Sweet Bird Of Youth. In the 1918 Flu Epidemic the median age for people infected with the disease was 25; for the current infection the median age for hospitalization in 15 in the United States. This disease is spreading like wildfire at the universities and all schools in the United States. There have been several deaths of young people in my area.

The Department Of Health And Human Services has taken note that this is a disease of the young and its secretary stated that when the vaccine is ready that people under 24 will be on the priority list because of the apparent risk of contracting the disease.

But as a parent what must you do? If your child is not at Boarding School you can monitor their health, and if you want to be savvy you can pack a homemade Don't Get Sick Kit which should consist of the following:

1. Hand Sanitizer-If you wash your hands 1,000 times it's still not enough
2. Lysol Disinfectant Spray-It can knock off the bacteria droplets when someone doesn't cover their cough or sneeze
3. A Surgical Mask-It's worth the price of looking strange if it keeps you well.
4. A Thermometer-Advising your child to discreetly take their temperature while they are at school is a good idea

The final scene in Sweet Bird Of Youth is when the Paul Newman character's face is purposely smashed to deformity with a cane. He falls into the arms of his lover and says ironically "Look baby they've busted up my dreams." His Sweet Bird Of Youth had been stolen let's see that H1N1 doesn't snatch anyone else.