First off – congratulations to my wonderful wife – who on Tuesday morning will be awarded a special prize for her excellence as a librarian. I can’t really say any more than that before the ceremony, because it’s supposed to be a secret. I’m comfortable saying that because I don’t believe any of her coworkers reads my blog.

Secondly, some bad news. A couple of weeks ago I learned that my dad’s home, which he bought for cash with a disability settlement about the same time I was getting out of the US Army, is on the verge of being condemned. His attic is infested with raccoons, and they are destroying the house from the top down. I have a younger brother who is coming to help us work as a family to deal with the situation, and I have an idea that most of the plans are already in place, but we’re going to be getting together as a family (probably Tuesday afternoon) to finalize everything. The main idea is to get everything Dad wants to keep out of the house, knock down the house, and bring a mobile home in for him to live in at the same location.