HOUDINI IS HOME

Everyone loves a happy ending, right? After 5+ days of anguish & worry, not to mention the lack of sleep, our friends Bob & Diana Rush have their beloved Black Lab "Buddy" back home!

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, Buddy was able to crawl under the backyard fence last Saturday, right after Bob let him out early in the morning. From that point in time, he completely disappeared. Our friends went through all of the motions, like contacting the Humane Society everyday, posting flyer's around the neighborhood, and spending countless hours walking and driving around, searching for their dog.

We got a phone call from Diana this morning, with the wonderful news that they had found Buddy! The short story is that only a few blocks away, a guy named Rick went into his backyard to investigate why his little dog was barking and raising quite a fuss. On the outside of his chain link fence, in one of the many washes that work their way down to the lake, he saw Buddy laying in some weeds. He was able to approach the dog, and keep him from running away, while he called the number on Buddy's collar tag. Needless to say, Bob & Diana were there in a heartbeat, and the four legged kid was reunited with his happy parents.

We dropped by Bob & Diana's around noon, to share in the happiness of what you might call a Christmas Miracle. Buddy looked no worse for his 5 days of being A.W.O.L., and it was so nice to see a happy outcome to what had been a devastating event.

Patty had her right eye redone this afternoon, with a second cataract surgery. After the procedure was finished, and a followup checkup at the Optometrist, everything seemed to have gone well. She will be able to take the eye patch off tomorrow, and will be able to evaluate the amount of improvement over the first operation. We're both optimistic that the correct lens was implanted this time, and her vision will be much improved.

If everything is OK tomorrow morning, we'll be back on the road, and Travel By Chance in the motor home will once again be a happening thing. Tucson is the destination, and we're looking forward to spending Christmas with Marc, Chandra, and Laila.