Today, April 30, 2002, is my Father's birthday. Had he lived, he would have been ninety-one years old. Sadly, he died on Wednesday, February 28, 2001, exactly two months before his ninetieth birthday. Not only was he my Father, he was, also, my best friend, and, even though I helped to care for him during his final years, he was active throughout most of his life, and he was young at heart throughout all of it. I surely do miss him!

Today, I had an experience which I am not eager to repeat. This morning, my primary care physician, assisted by his nurse, performed a sigmoidoscopy, in his office. This afternoon, I had an upper GI series, with the added bonus of having my colon distended with air, while x-ray films were made. I went in to the doctor's office at nine o'clock, this morning, and got to work this afternoon at three-thirty. All in all, it was a grueling day; however, the preliminary reports are good. I should hear more from my primary care physician when the doctor in radiology files her report.

As an aside, I had to drink sixteen glasses of a liquid laxative, last night. I started at four-thirty in the afternoon and finished about ten o'clock. The stuff didn't taste too bad, at first, but, after several glasses, it became quite a chore to drink.

Last week, knowing that my son was coming from California to visit me, someone at work asked how long it had been since I had seen him. I told them that I couldn't count that high. When my son arrived last night, he told me that it had been four years. At that time, his Grandfather was still alive. Then, he mowed my parents' lawn and painted the trim around the windows on the front of their house. This time, he wants to have a resting vacation, and I don't blame him. Right now, he's over at his other Grandmother's house, visiting with her and her daughter, his aunt.

Last night, as I was driving to the airport, I realized that it had been some months since I had driven at night, and I was a little uneasy about it. It took me twenty minutes to drive from my Mother's house to the airport, and, then, I had a thirty-five minute wait before I saw my son, smiling and waving. We stopped at Wendy's and picked up something for him to eat. At my Mother's house, he came inside, to speak to her, for a few minutes. Then, he drove off in the car she is loaning him for the week that he will be here.

This morning, I took my Mother grocery shopping. Then I mowed her front and back yards. Later, this afternoon, I'll take her to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, or two, then, to the post office, and, finally, to the library.

My son may call me today, or, he may not. While he is here, he plans to spend a day or two out in the country, at his other Grandmother's farm.

My Mother has a standing appointment with her primary care physician every three months. She is eighty years old, and he likes to keep a close eye on her, especially because she is a diabetic and has had a deep vein thrombosis in her left leg (twice). I took off from work at eight-thirty this morning, picked her up, and drove her to the doctor's office. The doctor was pleased. He said that she was doing well and that her blood test results were "perfect." Great news!

I must have tried a dozen application launchers, but I have finally found one that seems just right: not too simple and not too complicated, and it is freeware, to boot! You can download it from the program's home page.

I am evaluating several time management computer programs. I need a program to help me to manage my business and my personal tasks, things to do, and projects. The ones I'm studying right now are: Done 2000, Click Tray Calendar, VeriTime, Quick To-Do Light, and Quick2Do . My plan it to select one to use permanently.

I have been reading newspapers and watching network television news, as well as visiting news sites on the Internet, to inform myself about the Israeli incursion into Jenin. I must say that I am rather disheartened at the plethora of reporters who talk about the "alleged massacre" of Palestinian civilians, without giving the Israeli side of the story. A story in the London Times newspaper, datelined April 20, 2002, goes some way towards correcting that.

This morning, I got up, ate breakfast, looked at the newspaper and, then, lay back down and took a nap. I am so glad that I did, because I dreamed about my Father, who died on February 28, 2001, just two months before his ninetieth birthday. In the dream, he and I were walking along a sidewalk. I had my hand around his waist to steady him, and he had his hand on my shoulder. I can't recall what we were talking about. What I do remember is that we were just talking, like friends. My Father was a beautiful human being: kind, gentle, intelligent, and sensitive to the feelings of others. I surely do miss him.

Kissy Software has built an excellent, free software launcher.

And while I'm on the subject: It used to be that when someone wanted to fill their car's tank with gasoline, they would go to a service station. When they drove in, someone would wash their windshield, check the pressure in their tires, check the car's fluid levels, and do all of these things with a smile. And there were no such things as "full service" and "self service" pumps; they were all full service!

Many years ago, there was a drug store in our town that offered curb service. Before World War II, the garbage men (that was before the term "sanitation engineers" had been thought of) would go behind your house to get your trash can and return it when they had emptied it into their truck. I am not making this up! What happened? Why do we have to settle for an inferior level of service now? People who enjoyed those services didn't pay "extra" for them. That level of service was the norm!