Today I went to the local natural/health store seeking some insurance against the findings from my last CAT scan. I got a mega multi-vitamin with all sorts of whole foods and herbs, something called "liver defense," and, at the advice of the gentleman who runs the store, Beta-Glucan and super strength vitamin C. I was feeling pretty positive about all of this. I mean, the doctor said not to worry, and I am taking his advice in that regard. But just in case, I'm trying to exercise more, eat better, get a decent amount of sleep, and take all the vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements I can to ensure that my immune system is at its very best. After all, it can't hurt and it might help....

The gentleman at the store approved of my choices. Since he's been around for years, has a degree in.... I forget what exactly, but it's related to health and nutrition.... and seems quite knowledgeable, I was encouraged when he told me that my immune system would be ready to do battle with whatever came along. "That's great!" I replied happily, adding that it would be just in time for avian flu. It was a joke, but this gentleman suddenly stopped smiling. I figured he didn't find the possibility of a pandemic all that amusing. But rather than giving me a lecture about why one shouldn't joke about widespread pain, suffering, and death, he told me that scientists had recreated the Spanish flu virus of 1918. I answered that I had seen that in the news. Was I also aware that "they" modified it and made some enormous number of doses? I wasn't.

"To make a vaccine?" I queried.

"No. To spray us."

"Spray us?"

"With contrails. Millions will die."

"Contrails? Really?"

"The government's been doing it for years. They've already been spraying us to make us dumber."

"I've been feeling dumber," I responded with a smile hoping desperately for one in return, "but I didn't think it had anything to do with contrails."

"12th graders today are testing lower than 9th graders in the rest of the world."

I decided that, seeing no punch line forthcoming, it would be best to refrain from further attempts at humor as well as from questioning the validity of his statement. Instead I found my mind questioning the validity of his product recommendations. Can someone who believes his government is about to wipe us all out with contrail-delivered reconstituted Spanish flu know what's best for me and my immune system? Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't, and his belief in conspiracy theories is probably completely irrelevant. Still, I wish the topic hadn't come up. I guess I want the people in whom I put my trust to share the same belief system that I do -- and to not tell me if they don't.

When I got home, the first thing I searched for was information on the supplements I bought to make sure that they are indeed things I should be taking. Having satisfied myself that they were, I searched for "contrails flu." In Yahoo, there were 7,780 results; in Google, "about 12,000." It appears that this guy isn't alone in his beliefs....