Thanks for all the suggested remedies. When I went to the doctor, he said that as a lifelong asthmatic, my throat is very sensitive to irritations. Apparently (according to him) I had a cold last week or so and recovered from it on my own, but retained the hacking cough because my airways are overly sensitive to dryness.
Of course being a professional, he would never suggest there may be other reasons.
I remember years ago when I had to get a blood test to determine which Hepatitis shots I had to take. Apparently one of the things that are checked in a blood test is the prevalence of HIV. When I saw that item and that I was clean of HIV, I let out a little whoop of joy without thinking, then the doctor looked at me with a quizzical expression. Boy was I bit embarrassed right there..
So if any of you get a blood test and you see you are clean of HIV, don't make any visible reactions to avoid a similar look from your doctor especially if your doctor knows your wife.