Life Goes On

Even with more cases of coronavirus being reported every day, and with the death toll climbing, life still goes on. It may not be the life that we would like to have, and some people are having trouble getting used to what for now is the new normal, but this too shall pass.

We are doing our best to self-isolate as much as possible, going out only for medical appointments and groceries when we need them. Yesterday I had an appointment in Orlando with a doctor I was referred to for my nerve ablation procedure. With everything else going on I thought about canceling it, but it takes months to get an appointment so Terry urged me to go forward with it.

The good news is that after examining me and reviewing my medical records, the doctor feels that nerve ablation would do me a lot of good. It’s not a permanent solution, and results can last anywhere from a few months to a few years, but anything that gives me any relief would be welcome. The bad news is that nothing is being scheduled these days except for acute surgeries, so procedures like I need are being put off. How long? Nobody really knows at this time. So we are in a sort of a wait and see mode.

When we got back to Edgewater, we had to stop at Walgreens to pick up a couple of prescriptions, and lo and behold, they were stacking toilet paper on the shelves. There was a limit of two six-roll packages per customer, so we got them. We use a lot less now that we have bidets on both toilets, so this should hold us for a long time. Then we popped across the street to Publix, which was completely out of any kind of paper products, and bought groceries. Hopefully, we won’t have to go to a store for quite a while.

We are not hoarding because Terry has always kept a few weeks’ worth of food on hand, even when we were fulltime RVers, and replaces it as needed. It’s amazing what she can whip up with a little bit of pasta and homemade sauce, some ground beef, or whatever comes to mind. Anybody who knows me knows I never go hungry, and with her around I never will.

Good news for those who prefer a printed book over an e-book! The print edition of Big Lake Quarterback is now available on Amazon and you can order it at this link. The e-book version has been out for about two months now and I’m getting a lot of great five-star reviews for it. I always appreciate readers who leave reviews and tell their friends about my books. Thank you very much.

And speaking of books, it’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Cops and Writers: From the Academy to the Street by my friend Patrick J. O’Donnell. Patrick recently retired from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Police Department, and runs the Cops and Writers Facebook page, which is a valuable resource for anyone writing mysteries or crime thrillers. If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be a police officer, this is the book that tells you how it all gets started, from basic training at the police academy to hitting the streets as a rookie patrol officer working with a Field Training Officer (FTO), along with a lot of other information about things like arrest techniques, different types of police assignments, and stories from Patrick’s own experiences in the trenches. Even if you’re not a writer, this is a book you will enjoy. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.

Thought For The Day – You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks. – Winston Churchill