When I was single, sewing a well-worn sock could eat up my Saturday morning. Lesson learned? Always stock bandages.

So I enjoyed the gentle breeze as my son strode past me, handed his mother several Navy uniforms and asked her to sew on caduceuses -- to military specs, o'course. They're now with him in Camp Pendleton where he's putting his corpsman training to work with the Marines.

My joints ache at the thought of his hustling and hauling. Makes me recall how in the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," nearly every ailment could be cured, sort of, with a spritz of Windex.

Since I can't sew, I did some research. I had no idea a "war of symbols" has been going on for years -- caduceus vs. the rod of Asclepius. Caduceus -- a staff with two intertwined serpents below a pair of wings. Rod of Asclepius -- staff with one snake, no wings.

Of course the whole concept of using snakes to symbolize healing strikes me as a bit odd. One bit of lore was that a healer wrapped parasitic worms around a staff as he drew them out of the skin -- and that image became his trademark.

Makes me wanna reach for Windex.