Report of 8 Feb 2024

Good morning!

Time flies, eh?  Here we are in the 2nd month of the year, already.

We were in Pune last week.  We went primarily because we have some friends there and I have never seen the place.  Actually, these are friends of my parents, who - by virtue of family, their kids, etc. - became our friends.  Their son, Farshid, had pretty much saved my sanity during the wedding.  

Pune is pretty and the weather is lovely; food was tasty.  I had a great time.  We celebrated the birthday of the father of the family while we were there.  It was a nice time, harking back to when we lived on the same street.  

We saw some nice sights in Pune - a war memorial, a hill station nearby with caves dating back to 160 BC - and those were memorable.  The hotel had a breakfast buffet - a criterion for me when selecting hotels - and I ate a lot.  

I was in Madurai before I went to Pune, as I had to see my own father before seeing someone else's in the new year.  My father's hearing aid was not working and I sat bellowing, which was exhausting.  So I asked the hearing aid people to come, they did, hearing aid was changed.  This is an expensive entity, but it's pricier not to have it as cognition wanes when hearing does.  On the next phone conversation, my Dad could hear and that was good.  The father in Pune, too, now wears hearing aids; I had pushed for that when I saw them in Australia last year.  The value of hearing in cognition is considerable.  

My telemedicine practice continues, slowly.  It allows me time to keep up with continuing medical education and that is nice.  

We are otherwise well and hope the same with all of you.  Wedding pics of Nat and James arrived, and the magnificence of the Banyan and all its efforts show through nicely.  I am always struck by the color in Indian photos - vivid and happy.  

We hope you are happy and have vivid moments, too.

Unw -

R