Well, unfortunately some turmoil.

My department chair's husband had pneumonia. He was getting over it but now he's developed a very serious heart rhythm problem. They've sent him to a big-city hospital to see if they can fix it. She's gone to be with him. I assume their son is being cared for (W. has relatives in the area). So far no one's asked me to cover any of her classes - which I'd do - but her area's so different from mine I don't know if I could do a good job.

I hope they can get W.'s heart fixed. I know this is hard on D. - it's really scary having someone you love have heart problems. And W. is a nice guy, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him.

and W. and D. are not more than 10 years older than me. That's also kind of sad and scary.