I try to write here about once a week, but a family emergency has thrown me off my pace. A small bleeding tumor was found on my father’s lung last week, and he was sent straight into surgery to have it removed. Dad came through surgery remarkably well and has been recovering faster than expected. But as you can imagine, I’ve been busy and preoccupied.

Dad has smoked for almost 50 years — in a way, I’ve been waiting for this day. I’m glad that Dad says he’s smoked his last cigarette.

Life is starting to return to normal; with luck, I’ll write again next week.