When A "-gh" Sounds Like An "F"

tough
rough
enough
laugh
trough
and....

cough

Nu, why the topic? I've been coughing. The air is terribly dry, and the sky isn't blue and clean enough.

I do have a slight tendency to get a cough, not all that often, but it's never pleasant. Otherwise I feel fine. It's just that when I have one of those coughing spasms it's awful.

Today the air wasn't moving in our synagogue, especially upstairs in the Ezrat Nashim, Ladies Section. It would have helped if the fan had been on.

For the first two thirds of the dovening (prayers) I was OK, just a bit of a cough here and there, but then, just as Musaf was about to begin my coughing got stronger. There would be a few minutes when I wouldn't be able to ask someone to move away if I wanted to leave. So I just walked out and went home.

No, it wasn't all that simple. I kept coughing and having to stop and began to panic and the coughing got stronger and stronger and I was afraid I'd just lose control and heave...

...the one minute walk took longer and felt forever.

Finally, I made it home, thank G-d. I calmed down and drank water with lemon.

Since then I've been OK most of the day, B"H.