19 April 2012

A Wet Weekend, and Dad's Good News

Last weekend, a lot of rain fell on St. Louis. Last Saturday (14 April), I was first in Richmond Heights, Missouri to attend the monthly MPC (Missouri Professional Communicators) meeting at The Heights. It was a presentation on getting published by two authors--one of trade books on nutrition, the other on social good writing. I was the only man there among some 18 women attending the meeting, but I felt welcome and it gave me a chance to do a bit of networking.

Right after that meeting, I headed to Mueller Field in St. Charles, where I was scheduled to referee tournament games that day. I knew before I drove to the MPC event that the early games at Mueller were called off due to the heavy rain, but when I arrived for my first scheduled game, nobody was there. I called my assignor and he confirmed that all games in the tournament were cancelled, due to the wet field conditions. (I explained that I had been away from my computer late that morning, and he understood.) The next morning (15 April), I did two league games on the artificial turf football field at St. Louis U. High, and they went well.

Monday afternoon (16 April), Dad had his right hip replaced by an artificial one at St. Anthony's Medical Center. I arrived in the waiting room, where Mom was, while Dad was under the knife. The surgeon arrived after the operation to tell us that it went well. This afternoon (19 April), Dad was being released from St. Anthony's to go to an assisted care facility near our house to recover. He's been rather weak lately, with little appetite, and this care center would be better for him than at home for a few days. Our family's received quite a bit of support from family, friends and well-wishers in recent days, which has been most appreciated by us.

Last Tuesday night (17 April), I got Calvary Presbyterian Church's Lewis Fellowship Hall set up for the IPMS/Gateway meeting. Two days before, Rich Dann said he had to go out of town, due to a death in his fiance's family, and asked if I could give his Centennial of Naval Aviation Heritage Paint Project presentation in his place. I said yes and Rich emailed the presentation to me. It worked out well, as I presented this as best I could. The attendees liked the talk a lot. I'll probably see Rich tonight, at the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's monthly meeting in Clayton.

This afternoon, I proofread some website copy for a editor's client. I got all 19 pages proofed and sent back right away, and may have some more work from her next week. Always welcome.

Yesterday, I broke down and bought a new computer printer. My two-year-old HP printer finally bit the dust. After shopping around and evaluating projects on CNET, I bought an Epson printer/copier/scanner unit on sale at Office Max. It's hooked up and doing good so far.

Later.