Allergy sufferers - unite!

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It's that time of year again, when our noses are held hostage to the ever-present pollen, mold and dust floating through North Idaho.

We can't escape it, so we must all take measures we deem necessary to make life livable.

I myself have long ago abandoned any medication. I never did find any that made me feel better than just suffering through an allergy attack. Most of the stuff just made my nose run uncontrollably or stuff me up so bad I could barely breathe. Not the side effects I was looking for.

My biggest hurdle was living on the farm in Central Montana. Growing up, I pitched in on everything with my non-allergic twin brother.

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I used a respirator from time to time, to try and impede the stampede of bad stuff heading for my nostrils.

Stacking hay was especially hard, because getting the needed oxygen through those thick filters was a difficult task. I'd often have to pull it down to my neck to catch a few swallows of potent air and then get back to work.

The one benefit to my allergies was I never had to tackle "grain bin duty," which involved moving an auger around to clean out the bottom of the grain bins. The dustiest job known to man, I believe. My brother took one - actually, many - for the team there.

Driving through dusty grain fields, trying to catch up to the combine with my grain truck was always an itchy proposition. The fans in the trucks were no match to a sweltering August afternoon in Central Montana, so you just had to wait until you were on the open road to get rid of as much nasty stuff as possible.

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Nowadays, my allergies are much calmer. Sure, this time of year it's a challenge to smell the lilacs in bloom, but I still manage.

Riding my bike through North Idaho, I get hit with strong scents from time to time, and sometimes it'll take me awhile to realize what I'm smelling.

Usually I can determine the origin quickly. Here and there, I'm stumped.

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One scent I know far too well from my younger days is the ol' skunk-hit-by-a-car. If I manage to get too close to that on my bike, I can kiss goodbye goodbye kisses from the wifey for a week or two.

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Another jolt to my senses is becoming common as well, now that they added to the Centennial Trail in the Education Corridor neighborhood.

No matter what I'm thinking about at the time, I always get back to the here-and-now when I pedal by it.

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The Coeur d'Alene Wastewater Treatment Plant near North Idaho College.

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No matter which way I'm headed, the smell - and my outlook - is considerably better for a few blocks afterward.

Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 64-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com.