Ed Stoffel

I haven't had trouble with my knee popping out since last February. But now, it's back... and not just one knee but BOTH of them. My thumbs are starting to do it too... getting stuck, and then popping back with some discomfort as doctors are prone to say. So if both knees and thumbs are doing it, it's not an injury --- it's something else. I got to thinking about my medical history, and now recall that I've also had joint pain in my elbow and wrist. It was so bad in my elbow, I was getting cortizone injections. It was so bad in my wrist, I considered surgery for carpel tunnel syndrome. My knee hurt so bad, I considered surgery for a torn meniscus. Different diagnoses but similiar symptoms for each case. It's not arthritis because it feels like things get out of place, then restored. In the case of the knees and thumbs, it feels like tendons are too loose, and end up in the wrong place.

A friend asked me if I had Marfan's Syndrome, so I looked it up, and some of the symptoms are true including a few I hadn't considered (dental crowding, decreased muscle strength). I never could do chin-ups in school, and would get easily winded trying to run the track. (I recall the coach telling me to "Walk it off!") Come to think of it now, my daughter Darcy's elbow used to pop out of joint a lot while she was growing up... an indication of loose tendons. She's also tall and skinny.

If it is Marfan's, the diagnosis doesn't do much except to help understand the condition. There doesn't seem to be any effective treatment. But it does alert me to the possibility of heart problems... the worst aspect of Marfan's syndrome. If it's not Marfan's, then there's got to be another explanation for loose tendons. But is there a treatment -- perhaps in diet, nutrition and exercise?

I'm coming to the end of my college studies. I'm one of those people on the 30-year plan, having started college in 1977 but never finished. Over time, I've been plodding along, completing the list of courses required to finally graduate with a degree. I recently completed Statistics for Psychology and now I'm wrapping up a correspondence class in 3rd semester French. I've submitted all of my assignments, and now must study for the final exam.

It's been years since I really studied French, so my reading skills were a bit rusty. So I obtained a number of resources to help along the way. The best book by far is The Ultimate French Review and Practice by Stillman and Gordon. The book is written in a clear, logical fashion with full explanations to understand French grammar. I've also picked up:

• The Big Blue Book of 555 French Verbs


• 2000+ Essential French Verbs


• French Verb Drills


• The Collins Robert French Dictionary


• Pimsleur Speak & Read Essential French


• The Rosetta Stone French Language Series

A good verbs book is necessary, not only to learn verb conjugation, but because dictionaries will not list all 84 ways to write a French verb... you've got to recognize verb stems, and the many ways to spell common irregular verbs. I liked the 555 verbs book the best, which indicated the Top 50 French verbs. The French Verb Drills workbook was good for reviewing and practicing verb conjugations. Pimsleur is excellent for learning what to say and how to say it. I've also been listening to the Europe 1 podcast en français, and watching as many movies as possible while listening to the French language track with English subtitles. I didn't like Rosetta Stone ($300) for vocabulary building because you have to guess the English equivalent, and that's just imprecise. Instead, the 2000+ verb book came with a Transparent Language CD containing word lists and a flashcard program which was great for reviewing vocabulary.

The thing I dislike about most French textbooks is that before you actually know the language, most French textbooks present their explanations IN FRENCH. It's somebody's funny little joke on the non-French speaking world. Alot of French classes are taught this way, too. Actually it's based on the notion that immersion is a good way to learn a language - but in reality, it's like being thrown into the deep end of the pool before you know how to swim. It's not real immersion - I'm still living in an English-speaking world, and absolutely no one I know speaks French to help me learn it. Really - it makes much more sense to approach the task of learning a language in a systematic, logical fashion, with rules and explanations for it all IN ENGLISH!!! I also detest the Extensive Reading approach, similiar to America's failed educational experiment of the 60's called the Whole Language Method or See-Say Method. When it's important to know, it should be taught in a clear, understandable way!

I can imagine teaching other things this way... "Make an incision where you feel like it, and reach it to grab what you think might be the infected organ. It doesn't matter if you're right... after awhile, you'll get the knack of it." Hmmm... come to think of it, maybe that is the way they teach these days.