It started Monday morning as an innocuous sore throat, but quickly descended into fever and chills by evening. I’ve been laid up since Monday night with some kind of hell cold. It faked me yesterday with a slight recovery before slamming me last night with another round of chills. I’m feeling better this morning, but there’s no doubt that I’m going through a double-dip health recession.

Last night, my nasal congestion settled into my throat, and I had the sorest throat on record. I was tired, but whenever I drifted off to sleep, some muscle in my throat involuntarily clenched and I’d suddenly wake up with a sharp, stabbing pain in my throat. Miserable. I finally fell asleep around midnight, but awoke at 5 a.m. I popped a Benadryl and just woke up from that fake chemical-sleep, so I feel like I’m living in Jell-O.

Realizing that something as insignificant as a head cold had me moaning in pain in a hot, sweaty bed all night makes me prayerful that I will not end up writhing in a death bed.

Fever dreams are bad enough, but when you combine it with a sore throat, look out. Every time you swallow, your body feels the discomfort, and I’m sure it incorporates that into the dream. Monday night, I had a lengthy, frustrating fever-and-sore-throat dream about selecting a dining room table. I don’t remember the details, but the dream world made it impossible to select an appropriate dining room table. It had to do with angles. This is the third fever-and-sore-throat dream I’ve had that involved insoluble math problems. This is telling.

Of course, sick days are full of attempts to entertain yourself and whiling away the hours of quiet despair. Netflix provided the foundation of my entertainment. I added some things to the Instant Viewing queue and watched them in bed with the Roku player, which is the finest electronic device on the market today. Monday night, I enjoyed a couple of “Dragnet 1967″ episodes, some Jack Benny episodes and the movie “Network.” It was the first time I’d seen “Network,” and I really enjoyed it. What a pleasure to watch Robert Duvall being angry.

Yesterday morning, I watched all of the “American Experience” series on FDR and the first episode about Truman. The story of Franklin and Eleanor’s marriage is a real tragedy, and it brings into focus Hillary Clinton’s interest in Eleanor Roosevelt (remember when she said she felt Eleanor’s presence in the White House?). I also didn’t realize how quickly Truman’s star rose in the years before he became vice-president.

So, now that my throat is feeling better, I’m going go and swallow some things. I will relish these moments.