Digestive struggles

Last week, Avery and I suffered through some stomach issues.

One would think that digestive bugs don't offer much in the way of blog-worthy material.

There just isn't anything funny about amoebas, parasites, and bacteria. (Did you hear the one about the amoeba, the Pope, and Raquel Welch?)

What is funny, though, are the things said and done in the diarrhea-induced delirious state.

Digestive low point.

Avery is very social when delirious. The first night he got sick we were on the boat from Iquitos to Leticia. He woke me up at around midnight to inform me that he had gone to the bathroom several times and was running a fever. We treated the symptoms and made him as comfortable as possible until we arrived at our destination the next morning.

Any time someone would walk by his hammock, he would start talking to him or her.  Avery didn't really care if this person was paying attention to him or not. He was relentlessly social. Sometimes he would talk to them in English, sometimes in Spanish.

I, on the other hand, think about really heavy, important topics in diarrhea-induced delirium. Here is a list of some of the topics I was rambling about when trying to overcome this unfortunate situation:

• Death Star architecture, design, and construction process
• Who comes up with the Death Star name? Does the Empire have a marketing department?

• I was singing the Camp Ramah song.
• I was singing some Spanish song.
• I was actually singing in gibberish.

• I had a dream about an argument with grilled plantain saleswomen. I told her that her used charcoal would work well on her worm bed. I guess I had talked to her about building a worm bed.

• I had a dream of my ideal deli sandwich at the moment: steamed corned beef on Detroit rye with a Vernor's Ginger Ale or Dr. Brown's (not Cel-Ray). Or maybe we just grab some ketchup and mustard packets.

Obviously, there is nothing funny about diarrhea at the time. It's only after the fact, when everyone is better, that you can find humor in these situations.