My dad's in the hospital tonight. It's not anything too serious - probably just a pneumonia. I talked to him on the phone tonight and he seemed quite upbeat. Mom is being organized and brought along a small suitcases with pyjamas and small things he might need. At least he didn't put it off which is good.

Dad's most recent blog post recounts the time his own mother convinced him back in the 70's that the way to deal with his thinning hair was to get a perm. She added that she had a friend who did 'home permanents' and it could be arranged that very afternoon. My mom was away with the girls somewhere on a trip and I was away at school so there was no one to advise him to the contrary. As my dad puts it:

At a party that night a colleague ,much older, and 3 sheets to the wind, asked if I was as sexy as I looked. I went back to my mouse colored thin hair after that: so much for my attempt at currency.

It's at times like these that one doesn't like living on the far side of the globe.