Mr. Bluejeans Sr. is not well

Actually, Mr. Bluejeans Sr. is in the hospital with pneumonia.

"How old is your father?" people keep asking me when I tell them this. "Fifty-nine," I tell them, and they look confused, having envisioned a frail old man. This is similar, I suppose, to my reaction to hearing that the bishop of Oakland had fallen down a flight of stairs in his home and broken both arms.

I assumed he was a frail old bishop, but actually he's also in his fifties, and is now recovering--with some help from my students, who wrote get-well cards, and are now praying for his recovery at school prayer every morning. They also pray for Ms. Balabusta's father.

Anyway, this is scary and alarming--it started with a chest cold, and then the diabetes acted up, and apparently three or four pneumonias took root, and now Mr. Bluejeans Sr. has been in the hospital for six days, and is being treated with weapons-grade antibiotics.

My mother also has the cold, and since she has asthma, she's being very slow to recover, and is stuck at home, since they didn't hospitalize her.

And two people I know well lost beloved cats in the last two weeks.

Altogether, this is not good. Not good at all.