The Story of the Film So Far,,,

My deepest apologies for the lack of updates/posts over the past several months. Here's what you need to know to get caught up:

1) The Vegas trip in early March went well... learned a lot about my job, and how people try to cheat the system. (and how to better catch them! HAHA)
2) Shortly upon my return from Las Vegas, my boss was asked "not to come back anymore" and without even raising my hand, was promoted to his position on April 6th. There was quite a mess to clean up, and I have been working hard to get my department back on the right track. The promotion (and accompanying pay raise!) was made Official and permanent on July 7th. Things have settled down at work, but now...
3) My Dad's health is taking a downturn, Back in May, the chronic back pain from 80 years of hard work, Military service, and just wear-and-tear finally forced dad to having Surgery. They rebuilt the lower 3rd of his back, installing Rods, Plates, Screws, etc... I have to admit, I never dreamed Dad would do as well as he did with the recovery! He was in the hospital for 3 days, in Rehab for 13 days, and is now totally PAIN-FREE.
While recovering, his older brother died from a stroke last month, and 2 weeks ago, Dad found out a spot in his right lung had suddenly gotten a lot larger. The could not get to it to do a biopsy, so Surgery was in order. It was a good thing they did go in... he had an almost Golf-Ball-sized tumor, which they removed, along with a third of his lung. The surgery went well, but he is having some mental issues that are going to force us to move him to a skilled care facility when he is released from the hospital. Don't know what the coming weeks/months have in store for him, but we're all praying.

I have just rolled over 145k miles on the car, 2k of which has been from driving back and forth from home to Dad's. I missed the "Cash for Clunker" mileage by ONE mpg! (grr)

Let me think.. what else is there? Oh, I had a kitten "adopt" me back in June. Her name is Layla, and she is now 8 months old. She has me wrapped around her little finger, um, paw...



So, she's settled in as "Head of the Household," and now that Dad is incapacitated, she's gotten a new roommate: 8 year old Cat "Rocky." The two are working on being friends, but so far, it's been lots of hissing and growling... (and a few noises reminiscent of "The Exorcist.")

Anyway, I am back in Paris, TX with Dad right now... Just got him into a Long-Term, Acute Care facility. Physically, he's doing a little better, but his mind is somewhere else much of the time. I'm hoping and praying he improves. I hate seeing him like this... Stay Tuned...