One stroke to go, please.

Holy bejeebus, I just had the scare of my life.

I call Dad every night at 9:00. He had a sore throat last night, so I knew he wasn't feeling well. I called tonight around ten after, no answer. I called again at 9:15, same thing. I called his next door neighbors -- always my fallback if he doesn't answer -- but there was no answer there, either. I called again at 9:20 and 9:25, alternating between the two numbers, starting to get seriously freaked.

Since it gets dark so late I know there's always the chance that he's still outside puttering around, but he's usually in by 9:25 at the latest. I called again at 9:30 and when he picked up the phone I burst into tears. Turns out that the neighbors are all outside cleaning and prepping their pool for the 4th, and the old man was out back hanging with them. My heart is still beating a mile a minute.

I'm very pleased to write "Dad, on the phone" in the Music: box below. ::relieved::

God, that gave me a massive headache.