Dr. Ernie ('Sesame Street' Wednesday)

During my health scare yesterday, I almost expected to end up being treated by Dr. Ernie, considering the current state of American health care.

One day, Bert came down with a bad cold. Not a good cold - like one that makes you miss school - but a bad cold. His ol' buddy Ernie, however, remains oblivious to this factoid.

In the resultant Bert and Ernie sketch from 1974 or earlier (which aired for years), Ernie hears that someone on the ol' Ses has a cold, and he tries to figure out who:



This was filmed back in the days when, if you got sick, you rested - or saw a doctor. Most of our society wasn't like my first high school was later, where they screamed at you to come to school even if you had a fever of 105° F and were vomiting buckets.

The '70s-era cold treatment of strict rest must have worked, because people got sick a hell of a lot less back then.

But I wouldn't want to be treated by Dr. Ernie, who wouldn't recognize a cold if it jumped up and sneezed on his big, purple nose - thereby risking the spread of this misery. Bert even coughs right in Ernie's face, and Ernie just stands there like an idiot.

Maybe if people took advice from this skit and stayed in bed instead of going to school and work when they get sick, the health care system wouldn't be as overloaded now.

You can learn a lot from a Muppet who can't count higher than 6.