Tonight was a rerun of House in which a patient is diagnosed with MS. It turned out that he had some other disease (the premise of the show being a group of doctors who track down difficult to determine diagnoses). But the initial diagnosis of MS for the teenager was that of chronic progressive. It was a very gloom and doom prognosis. At one point the lead doctor, a curmudgeon if there ever was one, said to start him on the medicine now, without the definitive tests, so that he might be able to walk a few more years and talk a few after that.

Depressing.

Three shows all having MS as a main story line in such a short period. Could not one of them been a bit more optimistic about the disease?

I know reality is the wheelchair. Reality is irreparable neurological damage that the body cannot overcome. I know reality.

But isn't reality also those people who are pictured in the National Multiple Sclerosis Magazine who are swimming, biking, and going to the gym? How about those who have changed professions so that they might work longer? How about those who have had family and friends and neighbors rally around them to help cope with the cognitive and physical dysfunction? I would like to see that on TV...just once.

What next for Hollywood?

I supposed you are thinking that I should just turn off the TV, but it is such a companion in the evenings when I am huddled in the green chair. Lately my vision is too blurry to do much reading. TV is a great distractor.

Perhaps I should stick to HGTV and TLC for a while?

Have you ever heard of beer can barbecuing? Apparently it makes for moist chicken!