Some readers will notice that some items they expected to be in this week’s issue of The Journal are not here. These include the second part of our series on the Marion County Chamber of Commerce’s “State of the County” meeting, as well as various school related news items, and a few other things I would have normally had done.
I am fortunate to have some really good employees, but I am the newspaper’s only full-time employee, so when I have a setback it affects production in a pretty big way.
I had surgery last week. It was nothing major and I’m fine, but I’m learning that the term “minor surgery” can be a misnomer, as most things that require slicing someone open with a scalpel tend to put a hitch in their giddy-up for a while.
My surgeon recommended that I take a week off from work and I responded with an involuntary chuckle that only fellow small business owners would truly understand.
There wasn’t much chuckling escaping my lips in the first few days after the surgery. My wife thought cats were fighting under the house when she heard the sounds I made getting out of bed last Friday. Hearing her tell my son to go check made me laugh, which hurt so bad it made the “cats” start fighting all over again. I have definitely had to slow down and make adjustments.
I am already feeling much better, but it may take a few weeks before I’m able to really start catching up, so I ask for your patience and I thank you in advance for it.
I guess I should also thank President Obama and the current U.S. Congress. The procedure was something that my doctor and the surgeon agreed could safely be postponed for a year – possibly two. However, thanks to the new “Affordable” Health Care Act, it would cost me much more money if I waited until next year.
So, I decided to bite the bullet when I would have preferred to postpone until it wasn’t in the middle of the festival/playoff season and the beginning of the holiday season (the busiest time of the year for small-town newspaper people).
My wife, Michelle, and son, Drew, have been great taking care of me and lightening my load, but I’m afraid that the job of my copy editor (my mom, Arlen) is a lot tougher these days. My head feels a little cloudy, but my aches are telling me to take another pain pill, so it may be impossible for her to catch all of my errors before I have to get this issue on the printing press. I guess I’ll name the Affordable Care Act as an honorary proofreader this week to help spread the wealth of the challenges around.
I know that myself nor the newspaper are perfect under even perfect circumstances, but I am thankful for my health and I’m thankful to be a part of an area with good people who understand and still appreciate what I do. ... Now, can somebody stop by and get those darn cats out from under the house?