09:25 – Barbara just talked to Frances. Al had emergency surgery yesterday to fix a bowel obstruction caused by a twist in his small intestine. The surgeon removed his appendix while she was at it. She got the bowel resectioned before it burst, but apparently peritonitis was imminent. Al is in ICU, but doing very well. He’s sitting up and talking, and even took a tech-support call on his cell phone from another driver who was having trouble getting the Wi-Fi working on his bus. I suspect that may be the first tech-support call ever handled by a patient in ICU. They may move Al to a regular room today. He’ll probably be in hospital for another few days and then off work for most of the rest of the year, but everyone is pleased at how well things have turned out. Barbara is going to head over to pick up her mom this afternoon and take her to visit Al.
12:56 – The FBI is investigating the police shooting of that 13-year-old boy in California. I’m at a loss to understand why. As far as I’m concerned, that boy should be a favored Darwin Awards Candidate. If I’d been the cops present, I’d have shot him, too. I’d have shot him a whole bunch of times. I’d have kept shooting him until I was sure the threat had been eliminated. Carrying around a pellet gun that looks very much like an AK-47 is going to draw attention. Ignoring the police when they ordered him to drop the weapon, instead turning towards them and raising the barrel, goes beyond stupid.
