Howard and I

Lately I feel like a female version of Howard Hughes. Not in the realms of inventiveness or liquid assets, but regarding his famous fear of dirt and germs - mysophobia.

I am constantly washing my hands, or using hand sanitizer. Not just before I eat or after I use the restroom, but after grading papers, using the phone, opening doors, you name it.

Hopefully, I’m not the only publicly employed person who is doing this. It is basic hygiene. It’s what your mother told you to do, and she was right.

Today hand washing is touted as the number one weapon in the fight against the H1N1 virus, or swine flu – especially at schools. A recent article in the New York Times reported that several studies show a significant drop in the spread of swine flu among those who frequently wash their hands.

But for me, preventive sanitizing is not altogether pathological. It’s a face-to-face occupational necessity everyday.

“A-choo!” This girl in my first period history class had not assumed the recommended “Dracula” pose for sneezing into one’s elbow. She had instead blasted an open history book and the desk where she sat. That open history book and desk would be used by two other students later that day.

Should I scrub down every page? Do I pull that desk away from the others so no one sits in it? Was the girl contagious or just allergic to something?

During language arts a student came up to me with a question, but not before running the palm of her left hand up the front of her runny nose.

“Do we have to write in cursive?”

“Yes. And go get some hand sanitizer.”

Like most classrooms today, mine is equipped with a push-button sanitizer dispenser mounted on the wall by the door. I also have my own personal bottle at my desk.

Like I said, Howard and I have something in common.