Epidemic come to life

Today --- like much of the media --- my story focused on swine flu. When I was reporting in Trenton, NJ, I remember endless press conferences and practice drills dealing with avian flu. Back then I had a hard time imagining a flu epidemic sweeping the country in this day and age. It seems like with all of the safety measures and medicine available in the United States, the disease would be stamped out before it began. But now, seeing the reports and hearing the death tolls from Mexico, it's a wake-up call. Even more disconcerting, the idea that this particular strain of flu seems to kill people between the ages of 20 to 40 more than any other age group. That's my generation and often times, I tend to think we're bullet proof. It's just a good reminder that the unexpected can happen at any time.