I've been around. I went on a cruise to the Bahamas during the last week in August -- a gift from my brother, who also provided the means for Lisa to go, both so I would have a caregiver along, and a thank-you from him for her love and care of me.

But almost from the moment we returned, things have gone bad.... The week after Ambrose, my cat for fifteen years, disappeared. He's been gone for ten days; he would never not come home if he could do. There've been no dead cats on the roads around here, and I've called the local dog control person and the shelters, talked to the neighbors. But he's just....gone. Not the first domestic cat to disappear from this area, either. Coyotes. The area is polluted with them, and they're opportunistic hunters. No, he's dead, I feel it. I just hope it was fast, and he never knew what hit him. They're all gone now, my family: the horse, both dogs, and now the cat.

MS is raging -- mostly bowel troubles, spasticity, and weakness. All in all, I'm not exactly leaping from the bed with the glad cry of morning.

Chris