Surfing the Styx

Lenore and I have been "under the weather" recently. She has had paroxysms of tachycardia (rapid heart rate) accompanied by shock level blood pressure readings while I have had a major upper respiratory infection with incessant coughing and undislodgeable phlegm in my nasopharynx. After an intensive medical workup, Lenore was given new medication and to our great relief, it worked. As for me, with constant hawking (heard even by my neighbors) and dosing myself liberally with mucolytics, I am almost back to a semblance of 92-year old normalcy. May this respite last. Though we found ourselves adrift on the river Styx, we did find a snug spot on its lee bank. Our anchor is out with lots of scope and so far it seems to be holding.

Through our travail, I have not been oblivious to the fact that so very much is happening all over the world. In my entire life I cannot recall a similar period of unremitting disasters and people going out of their way to address each other with inexcusable rancor and hostility. If this isn't Armageddon, it is its closest living relative. As soon as I can collect my senses, and reposition my cerebrum on its binnacle, I mean to resume my writing, about man’s inhumanity to man. In the meantime, if you have actually got this far, thank you for your indulgence and tenacity.

During our protracted disquietude, I became addicted to that popular Japanese puzzle game called Sudoku. Though published regularly by some newspapers, the program can be bought and downloaded from the Internet for about $20. My preference is to do the puzzle on my computer. And like Hercule Poirot was fond of saying ~ "You have to keep those little grey cells alive and active."