you don't have to put up a fight, you don't have to always be right I've been reading a great book lately called "Healthy Aging" by Dr. Andrew Weil. He's a very knowledgeable writer with very practical advice on improving lifestyle habits in order to maintain optimum health throughout one's life. Although I think my father has mentioned the concept to me before, this is my first significant exposure to the idea of "compression of morbidity". That is, to have an enduring quality of life into one's final years, and when the end comes, it does not drag out. Seems like a reasonable plan, right, to not prolong suffering..?

That happened today, in the Miramichi area of New Brunswick. My 89-year-old grandmother, after recently being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, left us to breathe freely in the next life. Katherine Ryan was a huge part of my father's life and he will feel this loss tremendously. Her seven children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren will gather to bid her farewell on Tuesday.  | ¶ 11:54 p.m.