Dowbrigade Back, Zipped and Zapped

After
a harrowing encounter with the modern American medical system, the Dowbrigade
is back in action, although under medical house arrest for the immediate
future. By the time the docs got in there to tackle a look, our stomach
had migrated completely through the hole in our diaphragm and into our
chest. Somehow, it had pushed aside the other stuff up there, like the
heart and lungs, and made itself at home.

No wonder we’ve been eating and eating and our belly
hasn’t been getting any bigger! Our stomach wasn’t there anymore! It
was our chest that was getting bigger. We thought it was just
extra muscle and sinew! Several times during the past few months, we
actually caught ourself gazing admiringly at our naked reflection in
a mirror and thinking, "Not a bad profile for a 52-year-old, Must be
all
that tennis."

Ah, save us from vain conceit. Look forward to
more tales of intrigue and medical mysteries over the next few weeks,
as well as the standard mix of fun, fantasy and incisive analysis, as
we expect to have plenty of time to blog during our protracted recovery.
Because of the extent of the organ relocation and length of the operation,
we have been told we may not be able to get back to work for 5 or 6 weeks.

note: Occasional readers may be shocked by the gross
graphical nature of the photo. We have even better ones to look forward
to. Regular readers will recognize that one of the themes of the Dowbrigade
News is shocking photos, visual puns, and that we rarely miss an opportunity
to gross out our readers.

Besides, one of our fundamental beliefs is that one
can call oneself a blogger only to the degree to which one is willing
to expose, risk or demonstrate some essential element of the person behind
the postings. Welcome to our world.