Last week was a terrible week. The one I refer to as my spouse, partner, soul-mate, president, boss and love of my life was diagnosed with breast cancer. The good news is that it was found very early and biopsies show no involvement of the lymph nodes. She should have an excellent prognosis. The bad news is that she will have a mastectomy this week. That is a tough thing both physically and emotionally. Since at our age she is not concerned about being a playboy bunny this type surgery is of less importance. The most important thing is that it assures her of the best chance for cure. No chemotherapy or radiation is planned.

She has had many expressions of concern from our friends and relatives. She has received, flowers, cards, e-mails, calls, food and everything in between. All this has been most reassuring and lifted her spirits. It also reminds me of a passage from my favorite book, “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Scout was talking about her neighbor, Boo Radley when she said, “Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.”

Her surgery will be on Tuesday, Election Day. We will not be able to watch the election returns, so there is one blessing about being in the hospital. We already know the results of the election, so we will miss nothing. Hopefully, she will be completely recovered when we enter the changed world of America and the new welfare state. It will take all of our strength to survive this new age. Those who pay 60% of the taxes will be taxed more and those who pay no taxes will receive payouts. The current tax cuts including the death tax will be repealed. The borders to Mexico will be opened and 40 million illegal aliens will be granted amnesty and will be eligible for the new free medical care. I may reenter practice as an abortionist since this will be legal and services in high demand. Same sex marriage will become legal in all states. The wealthy CEOs and Wall Street Gang will continue to out-smart the government and rob us in other ways. The stock market will recover regardless of who becomes president. Affirmative action will be in full force and being hired or accepted into a school will depend more on race than qualification. Our defense budget will be cut by 25% as we become a second rate power. All this will occur in the world of our new President, Barack Obama. Obama would have my vote if he could help me get rid of the deer. It could have been worse if John McCain became president. He could have dropped over and Sarah Palin would be the Commander-in-Chief. She is an interesting lady and may be ready in 2012, but certainly not today. I know Palin would have done nothing about my deer problem, she may have even added a Moose to the mixture of wildlife in my backyard.

Anyway, this has been a bad couple of weeks. My only interest is that my spouse has successful surgery and returns to the porch. In any event, we are most thankful for our friends and their thoughts and prayers.