Hometown Report

Here's a nice little picture of our newest book discussion group member, Benjamin Button. He hangs with Angie and Kevin, and appears to be very good natured. BB and Angie stopped to visit a couple weeks back, and, despite my terror of children under thirteen, I held him while Angie shopped. In addition to being good natured and adorable, this guy is solid. Angie travels with an impressive bag of supplies to keep him healthy and happy, along with the normal equipment she carries in her own purse. I am sure we will be seeing her on the Sumo circuit in no time.

Benjamin did all his baby tricks for me. He stared. He gurgled. He cried. He drank a whole bottle of something, and he burped. He also smiled, but Angie said I shouldn't consider it a sign of his approval. Most likely he was just working something out.

*****More baby news...you may have heard about the pregnant woman whose truck overturned in Cleveland last week, and the trooper who was injured while helping her. I am happy to tell you that all is well with both. Jenny and her son Jacob stop to see us often, and we all look forward to their annual, goofy holiday card. I talked with Jenny on Thursday and she had just gotten confirmation that her unborn child is fine.

At first, it was feared that the officer may have broken his neck and could be paralyzed, but that is not the case. Jenny's family has kept in touch with his family, and it appears that things will work out there as well.

*****Last week was rough for me. Somehow I ended up with a buffet of infections, and was treated with a needed, but way too strong antibiotic. You know those info sheets you get at the pharmacy listing drug side effects? Well, I got every one on the list - confusion, dizziness, rubber legs, blood pressure drops, drowsiness...I'll spare you the litany of messy effects. But, my thoughts about small town life were confirmed. It's not necessarily a bad thing when news begins moving. Friends showed up with sick day soup, casseroles, energy bars. There were daily calls to see how things were going, and offers to check on mail at LaDeDa or work for a few hours here and there. All that for a small, inconvenient illness sure go away in good time. I am grateful for each and every gesture, and humbled to know there are so many quality people in my life.