A moment of panic

I woke up paralyzed this morning.

Last night I watched "The Sea Inside," an amazing Spanish film starring Javier Bardem. (Completely unrelated*, the very night before I had sat, mesmerized, before "No Country for Old Men.") Now, as I've noted, my LAST favorite movie was "The Diving Bell and the Butterly" (possibly my favorite movie ever).

"The Sea Inside," another film based on a true story, is similar in plot affliction brilliance to "Diving Bell." Okay, both films are based, respectively, on true stories and both focus on a single character trapped inexorably in a paralyzed physical state. And both are completely compelling.

As for me, I'm not actually paralyzed. I had just slept too long with my elbow under my head. It's a very scary phenomenon to wake up to. While my arm thawed out and I tried to not panic, I took a moment to think about just how it would feel to live with ... that... for a year. Or fifty.

* I had ordered The Sea Inside for my parents who love the ocean, not knowing it wasn't really about the ocean all.