Cure alls........
You can have all the riches in the world, money, fame and a good looking young compassionate fiancee, but if you don't have your health you have nothing! I have learned this once again. For today my sickness is breaking and once again I have all these, excepting fortune and fame. But a sweet fiancee to nurse me on the road back to health is good enough! As you can see by the photos taken yesterday [left] when I was in the death grip of the consumption and the one on the right now that I'm recovering, there is all the difference in the world!

And thanks to the thousands of readers [well OK a couple of emails and a few "comments"] who took the time to send their home remedies. Especially Kev in Australia who remitted one of my old favorites the "rum" cure. In my case being born in Kentucky, I used to take the Early Times whiskey cure. And it really worked. A day home from work sipping the sweet nectar would actually not cure the common cold, but by afternoon you would most certainly not give a damn about the illness. However, in my sad and pathetic case, not only would I forget about the sniffles, I would also forget that I had a job and a mortgage and bills to pay. Thus, and with a great effort, I gave up the whiskey cure almost ten [10] years ago. As they say the cure was killing me, thus the reason for my unfortunate stay in Intensive Care previously mentioned.

I think, actually, the cure that turned the corner today was the chicken soup so graciously provided by my Mother-in-Law to be Pat. A steamy medley of chicken, broth, liberal garlic, onions and black pepper with assorted vegetables. Don't laugh, I have read scientific reports that conclude that there is something in chicken soup that actually does promote the demise of a cold more quickly than most other substances. I didn't try the weedy plant that the Big Gold Dog eats, but that idea still intrigues me.

Now, sometimes in a wistful state I may miss the whiskey cure but if that were the remedy of choice for me now I would not have much of anything including the rambling Bedford Road estate, a career or a beautiful young fiancee. I'll stick with chicken soup anytime!