Week that wuz: Good riddance

I drove nowhere yesterday, since I always walk to and from work, so now comes the job of sweeping the snow off the truck, firing it up and going out to do what needs to be done. Chinese snow torture continues: One flake at a time.

The day that began with snow ended (for many at the office) with a really uncomfortable confrontation between two of the participants at the late-afternoon meeting. Why is it, with at least eight hours in a work day, looming disputes cannot be resolved earlier and in private? When they're not, two peoples' unhappiness suddenly spreads to include several uncomfortable witnesses.

These are not good days in media-related businesses, especially newspapers, because of the general financial mess complicated for us by a corporate master teetering on the brink of Chapter 11 after having shot itself in the foot financially by being the rabbit who tried to swallow the elephant some years ago. So everyone's on edge to begin with.

I usually don't worry much about the important stuff like that and spend my time obsessing about inconsequential things --- like why I couldn't find my glasses a while ago after putting them down in a place I usually don't. It's not complacency, but in the course of a middle-aged life I've managed to wobble through Vietnam, the AIDS pandemic and good deal of other gloom, doom, death and destruction. So in all likelihood I'll make it through this, too, as will everyone else.

The third health-related shoe also dropped Friday in the circle of people I'm concerned about. First it was surgery to repair an ankle bone of a guy who while on a routine visit to his doctor said "Oh, by the way" and discovered that the bone apparently had just broken spontaneously. Then a trip to Mayo for the gal who had a benign tumor removed there a couple of years ago, then received a troubling report after a scan. No major problems turned up in either of those cases. But the capper is impending colon cancer surgery for another friend who already has survived breast cancer. Sheesh.

So there's my gloom and doom report. Now I'm going forth into the snow!