As I noted in the first installment of the "Swine Flu: It Can Happen to Jew" trilogy, my original misconception was that vegetarians and kosher-keeping Jews would be less susceptible to swine flu. I was wrong. Back when swine flu was just an abstract concept, things like saying "What's up, my swine flu?" to fellow Jews seemed much funnier. As I have documented (see the "Related Posts" section below), though, swine flu is no joke. It has affected tens of thousands of people around the world, including quite a few Jews.

Last month, swine flu changed the nature of a Jewish wedding in Highland Park, Ill. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ilana Jackson and rabbinical student Jeremy Fierstien got married in surgical masks and latex gloves less than 48 hours after they learned they had swine flu. They didn't dance, they didn't walk down the aisle, and, for the most part, they stayed 10 feet away from guests. The bride's scheduled hairstylist refused to touch her.

I think anyone would be horrified by having his or her wedding ruined (perhaps that's too subjective a word) by swine flu, but the Chicago Tribune's article partially focused on comic elements. Fierstien reportedly chuckled upon recounting when the doctor told the couple they had swine flu. The couple apparently considered the possibility of a wedding with swine flu before they were diagnosed. "We joked about it. Like, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we had swine flu?'" said Jackson. The article added, "The guests told them to give it a few years and they'd laugh about it, Jackson said. 'I'm, like, give me a few weeks,' she said."

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