Does it ever cool off in Florida?

Well, I said I was going to keep up with the laundry in case I had to make a quick trip south, but I neglected to do that and will have to use my dad's facilities while I'm here.

He's been having pretty good days, but very uncomfortable nights. Sunday night they moved him from a regular medical floor into Intensive Care. His wife called yestserday at 7:30 a.m., I left West Virginia at 9:20 and I saw him about 12 hours later.

I may have violated the speed limit getting here. And I certainly wasn't conserving fuel.

When I stepped out of the car at the hospital, I was immediately struck by the thought that my blue jeans were probably too heavy to wear in this climate. How long does it take you southerners to adapt? We can see our breath when we walk outside in the early morning in WV; about all I can see here are palm fronds waving in the sea breeze.

We don't know what's wrong with my dad. It's not the systemic infection we first feared; it appears to be heart-related and right now it doesn't look good. His breathing is being assisted and he's sedated, but is, as the nurses say, appropriate when they turn him or try to wake him.

Which is to say, he can squeeze my hand, but doesn't know I'm there. Please keep dear old Dad in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days. He needs a lot of help.

And so do I.