When Was It Fun To Be Sick?

To those few who follow this, sorry it's been so long since posts. I caught a cold at the Wichita Train Show (I think) and though it's mostly over, the cough still lingers. I don't enjoy being sick, and I especially don't like this cold, since its distinguishing feature has been the cough. That got me thinking: when was it even fun to be sick?

I thought it was fun when I was in school; I suppose we all do. Then I pondered that some more. For any of you younger followers, that would have been in the 1970s and early 1980s. There was no internet. Cable came in during the latter part of that period, and at most you'd have 12 to 20 channels. Video games came in around that same time, but were low-tech, sometimes cheesy, and were usually better with friends. VCRs also came in at the end of that time period, but there really hadn't been enough time to build much of a library. Pre-recorded tapes at that time were $50 or more ($75 or more in today's dollars).

So, what was there to do while you were home sick? Read, but that wasn't always fun (homework, remember). Listen to the radio or watch TV (what little was on). Mainly, though, I recall sitting around and resting or sleeping.

Rarely did you get to see your friends. If you had something catching, their parents would keep them away from you because they didn't want their kids to catch what you had. If you didn't have something catching, well, you wouldn't see them for long anyway, because you had to rest and they wanted to play.

You couldn't even go outside if you were sick. Not because someone might see you and you'd get in trouble. No, you were stuck inside because it was easier to stay in and suffer than get up and do much.

So, having had colds, knee troubles, and even a kidney stone, I can make the startling revelation here at my blog that it wasn't fun to be sick then, and it still isn't all that much fun to be sick now.

Till next time (when I hope this cough is gone)...