POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

Best News of the Year

Thanks, I'm back.

I got an email from Mike Hendrix, yesterday.  He's an extraordinary musician and a great blogger, too.  In fact, he's one of the best writers on the net, from both a content and technical point of view.

So, it's with great pleasure that I notice the birth of his daughter. But most of all, because I think that he'll be a wonderful and doting dad.

A few years ago, you may recall, he suffered a terrible blow.  Now, he's in a different space, entirely.  But it's beyond any of us to overcome by ourselves what Mike's been through, and so, I think, his angel must be very committed, indeed.  And I say all this having spent the past week at the National Institutes of Health.

Aidan was a champ, as always.  They use his interviews over time as a means of inspiriting the new parents to the study of Childhood Onset Schizophrenia.

I met a very lovely Italian family from Milan, this time.  Luca and his molto vivace wife Stefania and their daughter, Gaia.  Stefania: "In Milano, I wait-a twenty days-a to getta my resultsa.  Here, they are-a here tomorrow!  Donna change-a!"  Luca is a carpenter, a maker of childrens' furniture.  They are off to Orlando on Friday to visit Disney World through Make a Wish.  Such beautiful people.  And their wonderful daughter's cancer is in remission and her tumors almost non-existent, all through the fortune of knowing a doctor who knew a doctor who had a contact at NIH.

If not for his wife's parents, Luca says, he would be emigrating to the US today.  So, believe me: at least among the Italians, we are beloved for our brash independence.  May it ever be so.

I was also introduced to Chris Chirico, a great guy from Connecticut whose son has a very difficult cancer.  He makes his own cigs, and shared them with us while we were there.  I'm praying for Michael.  Chris uses this site to get his tobacco and gear, and produces his own cigs at about $1.10 per pack.  Any readers who smoke may wish to take advantage of the same opportunity.  Be sure to recirculate some of it into the right-blogosphere.

I could go on about the Canadians who were seeking treatment there, but believe in their system is wonderful--"Sure it's broke, but we're not!  Hahahahaha!"--but the less said there, the better perhaps, because I like Canadians, by and large.

Tomorrow, I begin blogging again in earnest.  Thanks to Matt and everyone else for hanging in while I was gone.  And, gee, isn't it good to be away from Blogger.com?

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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