ROBUST discussion

I don't know if any of you have noticed that Amos hasn't been here for a while? I hadn't seen him on Facebook either, so headed over to his homepage- to find messages from his wife and daughter to say that he has just had a major operation and was in ICU. I don't know exactly what the operation was, but it sounds pretty serious, so if you could keep Amos in your thoughts (and prayers if you're that way inclined), I'm sure he and his family would appreciate it.

Oh my.

This is like a village.

Oh my.

Thank you for keeping us informed, Katie. If you send a message, tell the family Amos's net friends are thinking of him.

I was just thinking about him a few days ago, remembering that the last I saw of him he was mentioning something about not feeling too well. Hope all goes well. That was nice of you Katie to track down the info.

Katie, thanks for letting us know about Amos.

Amos and family, we are keeping you in our prayers, hope you get well soon...

Thanks, everyone. I've sent him a message passing on your regards.

How's he doing?

The last update said that the doctors had said if continued to do as well as he had, then he might get out of ICU today.

"He has a ways to go yet before he is totally out of the woods but he is making a strong run for it."

Good news. Thanks.

Thanks so much Katie, for keeping us informed. We, indeed, are a family.

A little more info from Amos' daughter - apparently the op was for a brain aneurysm. He's continuing to do well.

Oh wow! That is indeed good news and scary!

That's good to hear.

Glad to hear he's hanging in there.

He's in my prayers.

Oh no! Glad to hear he's on the mend...

Katie, so glad you took the time to look into where Amos was. And even more so to hear he is doing well.

Amos, you and your family in my prayers too...

Any more news about Amos?

There haven't been any updates for a while. I'm hoping no news is good news.

Quick update overnight to say that they'd taken the drain out and Amos is doing well.

Thanks for the info.

That's good news.

That's good to hear.

So glad to hear that.

Glad to hear Amos is doing better.

Glad to see you back as well.

That is encouraging news indeed...

From what I can gather, Amos is now home. Still taking things very slowly (because that's the only way he can do things), but being home will surely help.

Now, where's Andre vanished to again? Are these men worrying us on purpose?

Glad to hear Amos is back home.

Nice to see you back home, Amos!

I'm here, Katie, sleeping a lot, taking walks of less than hour, going out to lunch with my wife, sitting in my most comfortable Herman Miller chair reading the Australian writer Peter Temple, a stack of whose books I picked up at the library on the way home from the clinic, watching out of the window that that spring doesn't sneak by me before I'm back on my bike, which is what I really like to do, summer permitting.

Good to hear that two of my favorite men are doing better.

I was planning to ask for an update on Amos today, and discovered it had magically appeared. I clicked on the link with trembling fingers; so glad to see the news was good. Amos, mend well and soon.

Andre, I was walking in the sunshine the other day and wondering when you might be able to get back on your bike. Spring won't sneak by if you are out walking, in fact you will discover things you perhaps never see on your bike. Still, I wish you a speedy return to your favourite mode of enjoying nature. Don't overdo those hills, we can't function without you it seems.

Actually, I sometimes walk on the road around here in the middle of the night. Just now I was saying to Roz that you glimpse all kinds of unfamiliar vistas of the town through the breaks in people's garden walls and the little stands of trees. Bandon always has a new face, like Rome, for exactly the same reason too, that it is built on seven hills.

When I walked in my old neighborhood I discovered houses nearby that, if I'd seen a photo of them, I never would have associated with my neighborhood. Walking is good for observing what I normally drive by.

I'd love to be able to take midnight walks. I used to walk in the middle of the night when I lived elsewhere, but was attacked one night and nobody driving by bothered to stop and help me. Luckily, I was carrying mace and got away. But it ended my three mile loop over a bridge, through downtown, and back over another bridge. I bought a treadmill.

Where I live now it'd be far safer to walk at night, but the street lights don't light much of anything and the sidewalks are old and not in good condition. Only time I walk at night is when there's snow on the ground -- but we've had hardly any this winter.

Glad to hear you're okay, too, Andre and behaving very sensibly.

Around here, I can walk for miles and not see a single soul. In fact, apart from my in-laws' house 200 metres away, I'd have to walk a good way before I even see another house. I love it. But there's still the unpredictable. My son was out walking one day, when a woman in a hang glider dropped into the paddock in front of him. She'd managed to glide about 10km and just happened to come down there. She was as surprised as he was to see someone there.

Wow, what an image that brings to mind, Katie!

I'm wary of the coyotes at night. They were in the next field one night - had a rousing chorus going on. It's creepy in a very primal way.

We have a very stout net fence to keep them out - but they can still get in if they try. It doesn't stop the foxes - they look like starving cats with big ears.

There are rumors of black bear sightings back home in Ashtabula - I'm terrified of bears.

Did you read that Esquire piece about the wild animals that got loose in Ohio? Really scary.

Yes - there are rumors (in Ohio) that they didn't get them all.

The guy had WAY too many dangerous cats. 18 tigers from one report.

What an idiot.

Just wondering if anyone has any news on how Amos is doing...

I saw one of his tweets that Andrew forwarded, today or yesterday it must have been, so he's around.

He posted here not too long ago.

Oh, that's good, guess I missed that...

He's been taking fantastic photos and just yesterday announced that he's getting back to writing.

Welcome back, Amos!

Welcome back, Amos!

Good news indeed. Welcome back, Amos!

Welcome back.

What is it with the men in this group? Are any of them healthy? Now J.A is in hospital having had a severe allergic reaction to a cat where he was staying. He was on a ventilator for a while, but his wife reports him to be on the mend. No doubt he'll be back in a couple of days to tell us all about it, but I do wish these men would stop getting sick!

I was very healthy until I suddenly hit 50... like a brick wall.

That's what you get when you run full pelt with your head down, Amos. I trust you're taking it easier now?

I don't have the energy to take it any other way. lol.