Operation Haldeman

No food today, of course. It's not even noon and I'm already hungry. The sandhill cranes are migrating, hooting as they fly in formation overhead. They're saying "Yum! Wasn't that a good frog in that last field?"

Ah ha. That's an approach. Whenever I start to feel hungry I should visualize eating a live frog. Ew.

(Can't really complain, because I can have all the calories I want, in clear liquid form. So I've had several cups of strong coffee heavily sweetened with honey, and am now sipping on an alcohol-free glass of white "wine." Will zap some beef bullion for lunch and follow with a Popsicle. My stomach growls but I growl back.) This is a picnic compared to "nothing by mouth" all day, which I was allowed to enjoy last year.

This time tomorrow I should be coming out of surgery. Well, I don't actually know. They'll call sometime this afternoon with a surgery schedule update. I'm supposed to be there at 0600, which is fine with me but not so fine with Gay, who would rather sleep until the clock showed double digits.

The FedEx guy just delivered my Valentine's Day present, the Nagler 31-mm. eyepiece. It's a true monster – the size of a baby's head, weighing more than two pounds. The ultimate wide-field eyepiece. Of course it's cloudy out. Fog forecast tonight, but I might get a look at the sky.

Of course I'm concerned about tomorrow's surgery, not being an idiot, but it's a pretty common operation and I'm in good health. Thanks for all your good wishes. I'll be back in touch soon.

Joe