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Did you ever really think about what a biological attack might be like? My answer to that question would normally be: I really don't want to think about it. But there's been a lot of attention focused on that issue recently, which begs the question: what would you -- what could you -- do?

Stephen King painted a pretty vivid picture of what a biological attack might be like in his novel "The Stand," except that his work of fiction depicted the accidental release of a biological agent from a research facility. Whether fact or fiction, intentional or accidental, domestic or foreign; the result is the same. The thought of Saddam getting his hands on a bug like that is -- uh, chilling. The thought of *anyone* having it is at the very least, sobering.

Germ-warfare is nothing new, there are many examples throughout the history of man. In 1346, the Crimean Tatars catapulted plague-infested corpses into the walled city of Kaffa. When I read about that form of biological weapon I wondered if Saddam put in a bid for those chickens in Hong Kong -- that and a few Chicken Cannons and we've got something to worry about.

Another early example of biological warfare was in the mid- seventeen-hundreds. The British distributed smallpox- infected blankets and handkerchiefs to American Indians, thus causing an epidemic. Cruel.

But even as we were poised for war with Iraq over weapons inspections, we were made aware of a more imminent threat from within. The same guy who demonstrated that it was possible to order -- and receive -- sample vials of bubonic-plague now brings anthrax home.

And it's not only Iraq that we need to worry about. The Russians have been doing some pretty scary research too. It was after watching the television magazine, Primetime Live on Wednesday, that Julie realized where she picked up that nasty cold she's had for over a week --the walk-in clinic. In that show, they pointed out that emergency personnel would be infected before they knew what they were dealing with. Julie went in for a soar foot, which turned out to be a heel spur, but sat in the waiting room for two hours with people who were coughing and sneezing, and touching all the magazines. Julie is still sniffling a bit but generally feels better now, and I have thus far been spared.

I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing you can do to protect yourself from disease, barring total isolation, and even that isn't a fail-safe. You can't inoculate against every possible agent and there are many viruses without any known treatment. The fear of such an attack -- or accident -- is probably worse than the actual occurrence thereof.

So, now that I've done my research on this topic, I put it to bed. I'm just not going to worry about it anymore. Like I said last week: what will happen will happen, regardless of my "Thoughts."