Friday, 19 March

Last of three days on watch with my Dad at St. Maryís cardiac wing. I am relieved tonight by two brothers. All is well in the fatherland: the surgeon declares his recovery pace nothing less than outstanding.

Overall effect on me is also quite positive. Spent the last two weeks exploring my psyche with a boatload of dreams that I could easily recognize as comparisons of my life against my Dadís, and while such reflection is typically good for the soul, I prefer to dream about book sales instead of family funerals.

So back to my ongoing effort to generate boldly unique analysis of current world events so as to help G.P. Putnamís Sons sell me and my book to the national media. I am running out of time. Putnamís PR heavies are prepping me for a whirlwind tour of DCís mass media shops this coming week. How do I know theyíre serious about showing me off? Iíve been ordered to rent a formal tuxedoóat their cost.

So two quick bits as I sit on my relatively smooth United flight from OíHare to Providence, scheduled to arrive sometime after midnight. I know Iím tired after two all-nighters at my Dadís side; I managed to leave my cell phone on the rental car shuttle at OíHare. But here I go anyway thanks to several fabulous stories in todayís Wall Street Journal that make my work rather easy.