Sick days were much cooler in elementary school.

Back then it was downright exciting to get to stay home and spend the day with your good friends the couch and cable television. It wasn’t every day that I got to catch up on my Gilligan’s Island, Andy Griffith Show or Wings.

Though judging by the list of shows I remember, it is clear that even in the era of the burgeoning cable universe there was not much for a 10-year-old to watch during the day. Fortunately, Mom must have understood that because multi-day sicknesses sometimes featured some sort of video rental to help us pass the time.

I remember being entertained on one sick day by the classic film “Hot Shots! Part Deux.” Thanks to the wonders of technology (mainly Netflix streaming) I was able to once again utilize such an amazing tale to get me through a less-than-healthy day.

It is odd what small details from your life you remember. I recall another sick day (maybe the same one, who knows) that involved drinking some Sprite. For some reason I had my “baseball books” on a table next to the couch as I recovered from some illness. The “books” were three-ring binders filled with my baseball card collection. Most were just plain-colored binders, but one had a snazzy baseball-specific design and a plastic cover on the outside.

There was some kind of stain or mark on the plastic, and being the genius I have always been, I decided to use some of the Sprite to get it off. Apparently getting up to get some sort of wet paper towel was out of the question for this operation. The result, of course, was a sticky film where the mark used to be and I had to get the paper towel anyway to get that off.

I had something else to add here, but can’t for the life of me remember. I blame/credit Nyquil, nectar of the cold-having gods. It also gets credit if none of the above made any sense.