I'm so glad you are feeling well again, Ol' Joyful! It sounds like you were very good about following doctor's orders and appreciative of the good care you received. I hear you on the financial abuse of native peoples. Life sure ain't fair, is it?

Hi Jannie, If one of your daughters, at age 15, invests One Whole Dollar ... ... and manages to have it earn 5% rate of return throughout ... ... through 50 years of time ... ... when she hits the ripe old age of 65 ... that dollar will have multiplied 2-1/2 times - it'll be worth $11.00 and change. If she can manage a 10% return, it'll grow to $117.00 and change. No allowance in either case for the erosion of annual income by income tax, and of the value of one's dollar-denominated assets due to inflation. And when she buys a pack of cigarettes - she pays a lot more than a Buck for each one of them. Most of which goes up in smoke - though some stays in her lungs. And the residue can cause a lot of trouble. Can she imagine what people would think of her were she to stand on a main street corner in town and set on fire as many dollars as she spent on smokes that week? And do that at that street corner - every week? People would say that she was nuts. But - that would do her a lot less harm than using those dollars to buy smokes. Trouble is, though - in the U.S., I think that she'd go to jail: it's a Federal offence to destroy money, as it is Federal property. I do hope that your daughters decide that it is a destructive habit - and one of the worst addictions. I don't want to be a slave to a person - much less to a white paper tube filled with dead leaves!! That sounds some stupid, to me. As Dad used to say, "Looks like that person drove their pigs to a darned poor market"!! Good wishes to you - and especially them - for a New Year filled with common sense. ole joyful

Had a slight fender-bender in the early morning of Wed. at Lloydminster, an oil town on the Sask.-Alberta border - a van made a slight scrape on the front of the car while I was feeding my face ... pulling the bumper partly off, but it's stable and not a lot of damage. Had a good visit with sis-in-law and nurse niece (plus nephew that was at the reunion) in Edmonton, now bound back toward my brother's near Regina via a more southerly route, am to visit former colleague from Korea days in seniors' home in the village where she's sold her house, then back into Saskatchewan to visit Danielle and family. Had better get moving, so that I can see them after her driving lesson ... ... and before I deprive them of too much beauty sleep. Good wishes to you all. ole joyful P.S. Danielle not only told me where to go ... ... but how to get there! Lots of people tell us where to go ... but few give directions (maybe they haven't been over that road themselves). o j

Thanks for your good wishes and happy thoughts, everyone. I'm to have another checkup in 6 mos.; blood test two weeks prior. The serious part of the cold was pretty well gone by Tuesday and Wednesday - the slight ongoing cough was to clear mucus (and I guess the thought may have triggered the action, as I just coughed again). The nose-run was to clear the thick stuff that signals imminent departure. People are talking of 24-hour flu, but I don't call mine flu, as no throwing up, achey joints, headaches, etc. 'Twas warm, last week, then snow, and rain, which cleared most of it, and it's been chilly for a few days, to continue over the weekend, then warm up a bit. I goofed a couple of weeks ago - I'd agreed to visit a number of neighbours to encourage them to support the research and support programs of the Heart & Stroke Foundation and had some more visits to do, which are more pleasant in warm weather ... but didn't, so may have to do them in chillier times. Thereto hangs a tale/(tail?) ... but it's a bit long and involved to tell here. Good wishes for a great weekend ... and prep time for Easter, if that's important in your way of life. ole joyful