The knee continues to improve and I thank all of you who wrote to wish that and to share similar experiences. I have a pretty simple approach to being ill or injured: I always expect to get better but I expect that there will probably be pains before I get there. I know people who — when they get the flu, for example — go into some form of Denial; like if they act like they don't have the flu, they won't have the symptoms and problems. Almost invariably, the denial fails, the flu has its way with them and it seems as if the effort to will it away makes things three times as uncomfortable.
Years ago I worked on a TV show where our 1st Production Assistant came down with the flu. Through some combination of denial, fearing for her job and wanting to show everyone how dedicated she was, she insisted on coming to work anyway. She was successful in making everyone uncomfortable and in passing germs on to others…but that was about all she accomplished.
When I get the flu — and it's been a long, long time since I have — I find it better to just accept that I'm going to feel like crap for X days. I don't fight it. I just try to figure out how to get through it with as little discomfort as possible, both to myself and those around me. I isolate myself and just chant some personal mantra about how good I'll feel a week from Tuesday or whenever. It's my way of minimizing the damage.
As I get older, I'm sure that someday I'll encounter an ailment that doesn't have a visible expiration date but I don't see the point in presuming that for any given ailment. Worry is not good for one's health. So when you folks write to tell me not to worry about my knee…well, I appreciate the friendliness but I'm not worried. I'm just looking forward to having a little bit more of the problem go away each day. This is very fixable even if it takes longer to fix than I might like.