Dear Cyndy,

I haven't written because I can't make up my mind
what, if anything, I should say about your scheduled
eye operations. I can't help it if thinking about
them sometimes keeps me awake at night and paralyzes
the mind when I ask myself about what I should try
to write to you.

The inflammation in my right leg has finally subsided,
and the knee has recovered the full range of motion
without pain. I am able again to tie my shoes, to
get behind the steering wheel of a car and shift my foot
from the gas pedal to the brake and back without acute
discomfort. The right leg and foot are still very much
swollen, and will probably stay that way for some time.
An elastic stocking is a real help.

Margaret's brothers Alex and Peter, both of them physicians,
have been critical of my failure to surrender to our profession.
They mean well, even when they, like Eliphaz, Bildad or Zophar
berate me as if I were Job.

I'm spending much time and effort on my novel. It's the one venue 
where I may safely write what I think and feel without fear of
causing offense.

Stay well, and give my best to Ned.