Sometimes I'm slow to catch on. I admit it. But taking more than a dozen years to figure out something pretty darn obvious? Well, that's bad, even for me.

Rewind.

I lived in Colorado 1980 to 1990, employed for the most part of that decade as a flight attendant.

I got sick a lot. I often commented, "I think I have the flu."

I chalked my malaise, which I recognize in hindsight struck clockwork fashion, to occupational hazard. I believed doctors when they repeatedly diagnosed "sinus infection" caused by cigarette smoke within the confines of airplanes, or, Guess B, continual exposure to airborne viruses on airplanes.

I left Colorado in 1990 for the Southern California desert. Funny thing. I only got sick about once per year out there, and that was early fall when local custom calls for ripping out Bermuda grass and throwing out rye seed, a nasty little procedure called "scalping" lawns.

I am, once again, a resident of Colorado. I returned in spring 2005 to live in Douglas County.

I got sick almost as soon as we arrived with flu symptoms. I sneezed. My nose ran. My eyes were red and goopy. I coughed incessantly, particularly at night.

Fall of 2005, wouldn't you know it? I caught the same "cold". I went to a doctor and secured a prescription for cough medicine so I could at least get some sleep while I fought the "virus".

Spring 2006 rolled around. So did fall of 2006, spring of 2007 and now, here we are in fall of 2007 and a shocking pattern has emerged. I have been sick in each and every one of those seasons with the same "virus".

A close friend who to travels to the Denver area each late August commented, "You have had the exact same sickness the past three Augusts I have been here. You sure you don't have allergies? Ragweed is terrible this year."

Hmmmmmm. The obvious slid into focus.

This week I reported to a doctor with my tale of respiratory woe. She said, "Sounds like seasonal allergies to me! Try this."

I nearly cried with relief but didn't, because the last thing I need is another excuse for my sinuses to scream. I controlled my emotions, got my prescription filled and vowed to learn all I could about seasonal allergies.

Ragweed accounts for 90% of seasonal allergy sufferers' agony. One busy ragweed plant can pollute 400 square miles with toxic, abundant, airborne pollen. Ragweed thrives in Colorado, particularly this year because of recent precipitation.

Today I walked around our neighborhood in search of this despicable weed. I didn't have to search long or far. It is everywhere, folks.

Medication has relieved most of my allergy symptoms. If others recognize a seasonal pattern of suffering and have felt particularly ill in 2007, I'd urge seeing a doctor pronto to discuss symptoms.

We must be vigilant about weed abatement, not just in individual yards, but in communities. Failing to control ragweed is a serious and costly health hazard.

Ragweed. Recognize. Eradicate.