Boo-yah! If the first assignment is any indication in this new class, I'm back on the horse, but of course, the challenge is going to be to stay there; I'm still SO not a stats guy. But a 97% on the first paper is a good thing. More importantly, I dropped in to see dad the other night, and as I was leaving, to do homework, or do something, he said "I love you." No prompt, no cajoling, and yes, I just said "I love you" right back. But dad is still one of those guys who spent most of a lifetime not saying it, and just showing it as much as he could. It really does make a difference to say it, and hear it said, and realize that the other person really means it. It was an unbelievably good feeling, as much as anything, I guess, because it signifies that dad is not a totally lost cause; he's still as fired up as ever, still pretty sharp, although evidence still suggests that the gears are still slipping a bit. Dunno; under the circumstances, I think I'd be hard-pressed to hold anything against him anyway, and somehow or other, I still kinda miss who he was, at least that absolutely keen-edged mind, but the wit is still there, mostly, so it's not all gone. And having said all that, maybe it's a measure of who I've become, and what I still have left to achieve. But I'll get there, and it'll be worth it.