Cover me, I'm going in

In a few hours I will leave to spend a few days in Ohio. Those who know why I'm going there, and know what happened there last year, will understand why I fear that I may not return with my sanity intact. Those who know me well enough may believe that I'm not going there with my sanity fully intact, so that's not really much of a concern.

Dealing with your own family over the holidays is one thing. Dealing with somebody else's family is quite another.

Somebody who knows why I'm doing this told me that I'm a saint. I'm not. Far from it. But I value my friends above all else. Family is an accident of genetics; you are born into (or adopted into) a family, but you really have no say in what sort of relatives you wind up with. Friends are people you choose through a winnowing process. Over the course of a lifetime you meet thousands, or tens or hundreds of thousands of people, but only a few of these do you choose to be your lifelong friends. I am going to see a friend I have kept as a friend for over twenty years, to try to provide her with what assistance I can in a very difficult situation. If you are my friend, you should know that I would gladly do the same for you.

Anyway. Better take a shower, pack my bags, and saddle up the Tercel. I should be back - briefly - on the 30th or 31st. If I don't post then - well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!