the diving bell

For such a small town we actually have a pretty awesome library. It's located in the mall (!) along with the post office, which cracked me up. Anyway, since we are currently living without TV I now take a weekly trip there to check out a few DVDs. Hey, you can't beat free even if their selection is a few months behind Blockbuster.

So now I've seen the first season of Brothers & Sisters, which is very entertaining if you enjoy watching a crazy family drama mixed with politics and a little soap opera-ness. Then I watched the first two seasons of House, which I surprisingly really enjoyed. After you get used the abrasive nature of the main character he's actually quite endearing. House is like Law & Order but all inside a hospital with a team of doctors.

Then this past weekend I checked out The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I was really affected by the idea that your life can be happier as a complete vegetable. Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor of French Elle when he suffered a major stroke leaving him completely paralyzed except for his left eye. In this state, called Locked-In syndrome, he maintained his hearing, memories, and lucidity. He compared his state to being in a diving bell (think of the old school scuba diving outfits that looked more like astronaut gear). His speech therapist devises a way for him to communicate through blinking and eventually he "writes" a book one letter at a time about his experience. In this state he comes to understand who he really loves and who really loves him. He learns to live beyond the diving bell by spending time with his family and the time in between working on his book and using his imagination to escape.

Jean-Dominique found a way to speak when left with sight... but I don't suppose you could find a way to see when left with speech. It's an interesting question: if you were paralyzed would you rather live with the ability to see or speak?