Nice to see you back on the board, Jon Freeman.

I think I might be burning off some bad karma. Yesterday, I tripped, then slipped, and fell sideways, striking my head on the frame of a steel-clad door and ending up in a heap. It was raining hard, and the surface underfoot was the wet deck of a friend’s front stoop.

I scrambled/lurched upright and practically ran away — my friend is a fusser, which I cannot endure. But I had a huge lump on my head and I felt progressively weirder and weirder. So I went to the hospital to get my head examined.

Fortunately, the ER was having a lull. I was triaged in no time flat and seen by the duty doc, who ordered a CT scan. All normal. I could go home, so I did. Today I’m sore but okay.

The duty doc looked familiar. Sure enough, he had the shift when Edmund died; he delivered the bad news. Recalling that night was kinda the last straw. I tottered out into the parking lot — still raining — and wept. Just howled.

Then I drove home very carefully and fed the cats.

So, another tale of small-town life.