Lupus

I believe that I've reached a new milestone: contracting over 750 different types of cancer, tumors, and auto-immune diseases, including but not limited to malignancies, benign-icies, and every manner, shape, and form of new, terminal, and inoperable versions.

This is something I've very proud of.  I've always wanted to be in the Guinness Book of World Records: "Most Illnesses Contracted."

I want my tombstone to read: "I told you I was sick."

The Ant Man was at the meeting yesterday.  He was sitting comfortably in his wheelchair, chatting with another member when I walked up.  I didn't see any bags of food.  He thanked me again for the ride earlier in the week and I inquired politely as to the outcome of the really pretty difficult things he was trying to resolve.  He started to talk about another ride somewhere else but he wanted to attend the monthly business meeting, held immediately after the regular meeting.  I'm not sure what he was going to be able to add but god bless him for showing up.  In any case I had the Very Expensive Car that morning and that dude and his ant brood weren't getting anywhere near it.

My cousin's wife passed away this week at the not so ripe old age of 63.  While she had been quite ill it still must be a shock to my cousin.  He's a good guy that I don't talk to often if by "often" you mean "ever."  I don't think he ever understood the whole Not Drinking thing.  He drinks and there was always a lot of drinking at the social events he hosted.  Really, that was the gist of things.  Food was an afterthought.  I called once, after a particularly frustrating Memorial Day barbecue, and talked to him about The Program and why we didn't drink and that we weren't coming to any more of the gatherings.  I wasn't trying to be dickish - I simply want to stay out of slippery places.  He was understanding.

And that was pretty much that for the relationship.   We kept getting invited to the drinking parties and we kept declining until we didn't get invited anymore.

"Huh," I thought.  "There isn't too much breadth, depth, and width to that relationship. 

I sent him an email and I signed the on-line guest book and donated $100 to the charity that he suggested.  It seemed to be the right set of things to do.