I'm back a little sooner than usual this time, because I realized that I left off something very important when I was advising some guys dealing with illness. Maybe the most important thing of all. Laugh. Make her laugh. Make him laugh. Make yourself laugh. Keeping your spirits up has a really great effect, believe me. There are lots of situations where it's hard to find something to laugh at, but in most situations where you can grumble, you can find a laugh in there if you look at it a little askew. And you know something? Making her laugh is almost as good as laughing yourself. In fact, if you make her laugh, soon enough you'll find that you're laughing along with her. There is all sorts of stuff that you can laugh your way through when trying to wade it just doesn't work. Remember, nobody is asking you to laugh at everything. Nobody is asking you to stop grumbling. But the more you laugh, the less you'll grumble, and the better you'll feel. The better you'll BE. I mean better in the sense that your doctors will notice. It works. I know. It works.

Hi, Emma. Just thought I'd remind you that I know you're out there.

I logged on this morning to check whether I needed to add anything to this post, and I saw the Get Well Robert Jordan sites link. Thanks, guys. Thanks a million.

For Steve and Vickey, you are both in my prayers.

To Phil M, George Chuvalo is certainly a blast from the past. I doubt I've even thought of him something above 20 years. Maybe upwards of 30. He was a real iron-man in the ring.

For Patrick Crunkleton, Harriet and I both look forward to returning to Rome. We enjoy Italy a great deal, though there are occasional "animated discussions" over the merits of Rome versus Florence versus getting off into the Tuscan and Umbrian hills, while avoiding most tourists, of course. We have run into some festivals up there that we had no idea were happening, and they were great fun despite the (other) tourists. And some of the best meals I have ever had were in little Italian villages where there was no English on the menu (always a good sign anywhere) and maybe six words of English available among the entire staff.

To Bruagh, thanks for the info on using the accent grave. I accept it gratefully. Despite your connection to that rather dubious institution, Wofford.

For Magus of Norway, you, too, can win, and it doesn't depend on me winning. You can do it.

For Jonas, I tried paragliding a few years back, and it was a lot of fun, but it seemed somehow gentler that skydiving. I guess I want the rush.

Oh, just to side-step for a minute, "Let slip the dogs of war" is not Roman, though Shakespeare put it first in the mouth of Antony in Julius Caesar. Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war. The first part, Cry Havoc, was a recognized standard command among English Medieval soldiers. As much so as "attention" or "about face" would be today. It meant to turn the soldiers loose to loot and cause chaos. Dogs of war, of course, would have been recognizable to Shakespeare's audience as a term for soldiers. Sorry about that, but I thought I'd get it in.

For Lelon White, well, it looks as if it's just as well you didn't do a hammer reschedule. I'm glad you got that caught in good time. Thank God! You are in my prayers.

For Kris Lorenzini, I'll remember that phrase. In the mouth of the wolf. I like it. You may see it turn up in a book some day.

For Richard Maxton, I'm glad that I am able to help, in however small a way. You have a rough job. We used to know a fellow -- he has since moved to another city -- who was a pediatric oncologist. I always thought that was about as rough as it could get. My prayers are with you.

Another aside. Some of you comment that you don't expect I will see your post. I do. I read every single post you guys make. I don't respond to them all simply because there isn't sufficient time. But I do read every one.

For Child of Lir, yes, Venice is a terrific place. Though I must say that having dinner in one of the restaurants that line the square in front of St Marks while keeping one eye on exactly have deep the water in the square has gotten can be a bit nerve wracking. You know the waiters will clear you out before you're trapped, but, well, what if they hit the wine a little too heavily in the intervals? Soupe au pistou is simply a vegetable soup with parmesan and pesto. From southern France, I think. Very good in any case.

For Nicholas Papas, I thank you very much for the offer. I'll file it away until I actually get my Harley, then we'll see whether you still feel the same. In which case, I will take you up on it.

For WD, I may watch the so-called Big Game, but I doubt I'll stick around beyond halftime no matter who is winning. For me, the highlight of the season came with the Defenestration of VMI. Keydets bounce. Did you know that? Drop them from high enough, and you get a definite bounce. Maybe we'll get one of the upstate boys for a money game soon. This year, it was Pittsburgh and Texas A&M. Of course, the problem is that once we get the kinks out of Kevin Higgins spread offence, nobody will want to play us. (I think he was 45-3 his last three years at Lehigh, before going to the pros.) It happened the last time we got our offence rolling, though it was the triple option back then. Still, we counted USC among our victims, along with Arkansas and others. Until they started saying, no thanks. We only managed a 10-7 loss to the Tigers, as I recall, but maybe we can do better this time around.

For Coral, I'm sorry for your loss. But I do believe that your brother will know you are finishing the books for him. And I promise to finish them for you, and for everybody else out there.

Well, that's about enough of that for a short addition. It is about time for lunch, and I think I'm going to have a bowl of the left-over soupe au pistou. Soup, and stew, are always great if they have a few days to sumption around, letting the flavors mingle. I know some disagree with that heartily, but I stand where I stand.

Take care, guys.

Later.

RJ