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The guy who came to the U.S. with Ebola did it on purpose. After all, where is the best place in the world to get treatment for the disease?

Yeah, the U.S. — and all Thomas Duncan had to do was get here.

He helped a woman by transporting her to a hospital in Liberia, and when she couldn’t be admitted, he helped her get back home. She died later that night.

Once he learned this, he quit his job with ‘Big Brown,’ without notice and headed to the airport after packing up a few items of clothing. Once at the airport he ‘failed’ to honestly answer questions on a form about Ebola.

And because our government refuses to halt flights from West African countries, more people will figure this out and soon we will have a bunch of Ebola-carrying people in the U.S. Hopefully, our European neighbors will stop accepting flights, thus helping to shield the U.S. from a possible pandemic.

Things would suddenly change if a flight from Liberia landed in Washington D.C. with an Ebola-laden person aboard. After all you can still buy a $1,386 direct-flight ticket from Monrovia, Liberia, to our nation’s capitol — or pay as little as $554 if you don’t mind landing in New York City.

I know — I’m such a cynic anymore.

UPDATED 10/04/2014: A person with Ebola symptoms, who traveled to the U.S. from Nigeria, has been hospitalized at Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C.

Looking through several old newspaper clippings from an online data base, I happened upon a story from August 1958 about a couple of suspicious blazes in Crescent City, California. Unfortunately, the clipping fail to identify what paper the clipping are from or the exact date of the report.

“Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the possibility someone deliberately set fire to a large pile of stumps on Redwood Lane, the sparks from which ignited a barn filled with cattle and horses a short distance away. Fire Chief Lyle Griffin, whose men battled the blaze for five hours, said “the fire was definitely set.”

The first alarm was turned in by Mrs. Lloyd Noffinger, who first saw the stump fire near the drive-in at 1:30 p.m. One truck was dispatched to help extinguish the blaze, but more equipment had to be called out when Mrs. Noffinger reported C.L. Nichols’ barn ablaze more than one block away.

Griffin said firemen worked rapidly to lead the cattle and horses to safety and to halt the fire before it spread to bales of hay stored inside. Thousands of gallons of water were poured onto the burning stumps, which had been there for a number of years and were on the Huffman property on Redwood Lane.

Firemen finally returned from the blaze at 7 p.m. Griffin reported he checked the area again at 11 p.m. and that all seemed under control.”

“New York’s Staten Island Zoo attempted to cover up news that the groundhog accidentally dropped by Mayor Bill de Blasio during the 2014 Groundhog Day celebration died from internal injuries a week after the fall,” reports The New York Post.

News like this is so hard to take, not because of the death of a rodent, but because it is so ridiculous. But it does remind me of a joke I heard when I was kid:

A Redhead, a Brunette and a Blonde find themselves standing in front of the Pearly Gates with St. Peter. He tells them that before they can enter Heaven, they must tell him what Easter is about.

The Redhead says, “Easter is so we can have fun searching for eggs and eating candy.”

“Not even close,” says Peter.

The Brunette tells Peter, “It’s about the birth of Jesus.”

“Not quite,” he tells her.

Then the Blonde says, “It’s about Jesus’ crucifixion, the forgiveness of sins and how he was buried in a tomb with a huge stone in front of it.”

“That’s good,” says St. Peter.

“Now, the Jews roll the stone away each year and Jesus comes out,” she continued,  “if he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball.”

The CDC’s website warns saliva, sweat, and mucus can transmit Ebola. However the agency’s head, Dr. Thomas Frieden seems unable to answer if sneezing can cause the disease to be passed between people.

Dr. Thomas Frieden: Well actually, Sanjay and I, if one of us had Ebola, the other would not be a contact right now. Because we’re not in contact. Just talking to someone is not a way to get infected. It’s not like the flu, not like the common cold. It requires direct physical contact.

CNN host Michaela Pereira: But if he sneezes on you, it’s a different story.

CNN’s Sanjay Gupta: I am within three feet of you. Wouldn’t I be considered a higher risk? My understanding reading your guidelines, sir, is that within three feet or direct contact — if I were to shake your hand, for example — would both qualify as being contact.

Frieden: We look at each situation individually and we assess it based on how sick the individual is and what the nature of the contact is. And certainly if you’re within 3 feet, that’s a situation we’d want to be concerned about. But in this case, where we haven’t hugged — we haven’t shaken hands — we have not had any contact that would allow either of our body fluids to be in contact with the other person.

Gupta: So, to Michaela’s point, the reason we talk about coughing and sneezing not being a concern — if you were to have coughed on me — you’re saying that would not be of concern?

Frieden: We would look at that situation very closely…

If it can be spread by a sneeze (or a cough,) than it’s technically airborne. Simply washing your hands won’t keep you or me safe should this becomes a pandemic.

Whoever said, “Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life,” is a liar, especially when it comes to education for what one loves. I cannot stress enough to you that your education has to be practical and not a love-affair.

Community college courses, vocational schools and on-the-job training are invaluable tools to keep you employed. I wish I had known this before I headed down the educational road I selected.

I have a doctorate in theology — the study of man’s relationship with God — and for all intent and purpose, it has done me no good at all as I cannot find work in my chosen career field of radio news.

Besides, terrestrial radio as we know it today will be obsolete within the next five to 15 years, replaced by the Internet and personal devices. So jus’ remember – whatever you decide to study, be of a practical mind about it.

Believe me, life is so much better when one is working – whether you love the job or not. And at the moment, I’ll take any job I can find.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas says a patient being evaluated for Ebola has tested positive for the virus. The Centers for Disease Control confirmed the case — the first time Ebola has been diagnosed in the United States.

Interesting to note that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a large number of immigrant employees from Nigeria. Ironic how our national media outlets poo-poo’d this fact, calling it ‘fear-mongering.’

Recently I bemoaned in my journal that I spend a lot of my time feeling lonely. However, what I didn’t mention is that much of my loneliness is filled with worthless distractions from the radio, to the television, the Internet and even my dogs.

I’m betting you find yourself in the same sort of situation, too.

It’s because of this that I feel so alone the majority of the time. I know, it sounds counterintuitive.

Yet if one takes the time to look at the activities we’re involved in from day-to-day, it becomes clear our time is filled with nothing but the World. Instead, we should be spending our alone time in thought, meditation, reflection, prayer and other mind and soul growing activities.

Well, maybe the dogs aren’t that big of a distraction as they are a constant reminder to stay in the ‘now’ of life. Besides, dogs are some of the better people I know.

“For crying out loud,” Mary exclaimed, “with all the crap that’s going on in the world – this is the most popular thing online?”

Surprised by her sudden outburst, “What?!”

“People are complaining that they don’t like some actress’s new haircut,” she stated with disgust. There was long pause before she added, “What’s wrong with people?”

“I don’t know,” was all I could say in return.

Later, I checked the mail, where I found the TV Guide. I very rarely read it, but Mary goes through it from cover-to-cover.

“There sure are a lot of futuristic shows anymore,” she commented as she flipped through the pages of the magazine.

I agreed with her.

“So,” Mary sighed, “Why do you think that is?”

“People want to escape to a place that’s worse than the world we’re living in,” I answered, “even if it’s jus’ for an hour at a time.”

We both agreed that at this rate — society’s doomed.

The figure in black drew closer with each step along East Sixth in Reno. In no time I could tell it was woman clad in a burqa.

No one yelled at her, no one called her names or threatened her. And I was proud – this is America I told myself — the land of the free and home of the brave.

Driving along Reno’s notorious Fourth Street corridor, filled with vagrants, hookers and the homeless, I saw two homosexual men holding hands. They entered a bar that flies the ‘rainbow banner.’

No one yelled at them, no one called either man a name or threatened them with harm. And I was proud – this is America I told myself — the land of the free and home of the brave.

Once at home I turned on the TV and learned that the Washoe County School District says it will not allow school-approved athletics and club-related clothing to be worn on campus because it discriminates against other students. This includes letterman jackets, club-shirts, society pins and such.

And I was sad. Is this America — and what has happened to the free and the brave?

It’s been years since I was a U.S. Air Force Environmental Health Tech. And while there are new ways being employed to halt infections, the nature of contracting a disease hasn’t changed.

Ingestion, inhalation and injection are for any vector-borne disease the gateway into the human body.

However those charged with the care of an Ebola infected person cannot avoid the disease. So they use barriers like gloves, gowns, goggles and masks, not to mention disinfectants, to keep from becoming ill.

So with all these barriers, why are healthcare workers contraction Ebola? Furthermore even the CDC says the virus changes itself each time it infects a new host.

It could be that while the virus is primarily passed by person-to-person contact, the disease has mutated in some cases into an airborne illness. And unless proper precautions are not being followed, allowing the transmission, then nothing else makes sense.