1. Cram 149 people into a tiny space, remove 30 percent of the oxygen and recirculate the air.

2. Don’t let anyone out of the cramped little space until they’re weak, weary, stiff, achy and infected.

3. Load the next batch.

I traveled to New York on a flying disease-transfer unit. The next day I was so weak I could hardly stand. I wobbled and tottered from lamppost to signpost but no one seemed to notice. About half the women in Manhattan were walking just like me.

It seems they’ve passed a new law on Fantasy Island that requires women to wear stiletto-heeled boots. These boots make the women walk oddly as they struggle to keep their ankles stiff.

Some of them are better at it than others.

Roy H. Williams
Oct. 24, 2010