Leading up to this year’s season of glad tidings and good cheer, we’ve had more than our share of the opposite. First, Hurricane Sandy; then, the overwhelming atrocity at Sandy Hook school in Newtown.

As those here have abundant cause to know, I do have opinions to share. So I was delighted when LinkedIn invited me to join its inaugural group of 150 ‘Influencers,’ and blog directly to their network of 175 million or so.

The CDC has noted an early and nasty start to the flu season. It’s a bit soon to say, but the virus and the outbreak pattern at this point seem to resemble those of the 2003-2004 flu season, in which nearly 50,000 Americans died. At least two children have already died of flu complications this fall.