"Flu Season"

I was driving by a pre-school the other day and I had an instant flash back of kindergarten. There was the teacher and all the little ones lined up outside all holding hands. Now I remember at times we would all grab a piece of the rope and hold on to it going to and from the classroom. Mostly though it was take a hand. As far as I recall the Teacher never said "make sure to wash your hands" after touching literally everything but the school roof! I think the only time we washed our hands was after painting or using that thick paste glue. ( that glue smelled like you wanted to eat it! ) Does anyone remember what glue I'm speaking of? We used tongue depressors to scrape it out of the container. Again, you need to keep in mind this was all in the early 7o's. The days you climbed trees, did hand stands on the concrete, and touched everything on the playground and stayed out till the street lights came on and ate anything before washing your hands. I would play raquetball at Magnolia Park and we would play doubles and after a game I didn't see anyone running off to wash their hands. These days I go into the mall and there are anti-bacterial wipes attached to every stroller! There are even wipes at the entrance of Grocery Stores! Now we have this Swine Flu going around and I won't get into those details but it seems that the more paranoid (in my opinion) the more likely things happen. YES, we should all teach and be taught good hygiene, to others and especially our children and grandchildren. Education is key to this ever growing subject. Sometimes I wonder how much is a scare tactic and how much is a pharmaceutial profit? Just my opinion.