I returned home this afternoon, Tuesday, mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted following the funeral and family gathering mentioned in the previous post.

I arrived home to a large stack of mail, mostly magazines that I receive either at no cost or at absurd discounts due to my “regular job,” and a stack of books ordered from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Powell’s, and Buy.com.

After that, I went to the kennel to pick up Mildred, the world’s greatest bulldog, who apparently made fast friends there with a gray-haired miniature poodle named Mitzi.

It sounds like they had a blast together, which is all well and good, though Mildred already has informed me that she will need rides to Sunday-afternoon Mah Jongg tournaments at Mitzi’s condo.

I turned on the PC and opened Outlook to find more than 300 messages, many of them expressions of condolences from our readers, and others from writers, columnists, authors, and pundits, most of them allies and new-found friends, some virtual strangers, and even a few from those with whom we mutually have traded less than kind words. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed.

No matter the source of the messages, I greatly appreciate all of the kind thoughts and offers of prayers received both before and after my recent trip. You have made a difficult week more bearable. I thank you for your support and encouragement.

J.M.C.