By A Nose

Alright, I’m a little nervous. I’m scheduled to undergo another round of Mohs surgery today on my nose since they found more skin cancer there. It’s not that I have the most photogenic of proboscises but it has served me fairly well for the past half century and I’m not excited about extending a strip mining license there. The basic process of Mohs surgery is cutting a hole in the area the biopsy was taken and then testing the edges for cancer. They expand the size of the hole until the edges are cancer free. Given the sheer amount of skin available on my snout my imagination has taken free rein on expecting the worst although I would never admit that to anyone prior. That would be acknowledging weakness – not going to happen. I’ll have the grisly results for you tomorrow.

Sister and I Last Night

My stalwart sister and seasoned nurse came up last night since I’m required to be accompanied and my wife is tropically unavailable. We ended up watching sci fi movies into the night which brought back a lot of memories from the "TV Room" when we were growing up together. Buddy was in seventh heaven having one of his favorite humans around to dote on him. It was so cool just to hang out with her, a rare opportunity without competing demands on our attentions. My only concern is having her learn what the doctors “recommend” and then I’ll have two women haranguing me, health wise. If you drive by my house this summer and see me mowing the lawn in a burka – you’ll understand. The dermatologist once asked me during an annual screening why the Army sent fair skinned people such as myself to such sunny climes. I answered her naiveté with – “that’s where the bad people hang out.”

I checked out the first novel penned by Kyle Mills, Rising Phoenix, which I finished yesterday. Mills has been selected to pick up the baton for continuing the Mitch Rapp series following the death of Vince Flynn so I had to find out if my hero Rapp was being left in good hands. The book was very workmanlike but got better as I worked my way through it. The plot has a televangelist financing a project to poison the US illegal drug supply in an effort to put an end to it. Mills' hero is a non-conformist FBI agent called upon to investigate. I'm going to try another of his books before I pronounce my verdict because first books are tough and I need a little more evidence that Rapp is safe.

I took a mad dash down memory lane recently when my daughter, in the midst of moving to California, found some photos from Christmas 2000 which was celebrated at my sister’s house in Rhode Island. It was memorable because this was the next to last Christmas we had my mother with us and she actually let a few photos be taken of her – a rare occurrence that. My younger sister and her family were also with us. The year 2000 doesn’t seem that long ago but so much has happened since.

Stalwart Sister and I
 You Can See My Christmas Sartorial Excess has Been Around A While

My Mother and Estrella - Both Long Gone Now

Namesake Nephew (who just turned 21) and my Brother in Law

Christmas Dinner With both my Sisters

My Daughter in her Signature Christmas Sweater with my Mom and I

Pre-ABFA Son and Pre-Wingman Daughter with Their Grandma

Cousins Peeling Potatoes - They're the Same Height Now

Yeah, We Had Some Fun