I figured something was up...
Among a bajillion other things, I'm also an adult-literacy tutor for a 75-year-old guy from Gosport. I meet with him for a couple of hours a week (Saturday from noon-2p) at the Owen Co. library, and we read (me to him and him to me) and I make him write stuff and we work out simple math problems and do exercises in his workbook. Ostensibly, he's doing all this to get his GED. He has about an 8th-grade "education" (circa 1930), although he's sharp as a 75-year-old tack and works his ass off all the time.
The past two weekends, though, he hasn't shown up for our session, and he hasn't called -- and his answering machine hasn't been picking up either. The first time, I figured it just slipped his mind. He's "blown me off" before (to fix a tractor or mow a lawn for $$$) without calling on Saturday, but usually he calls sometime during the week to apologize and say hello and whatnot.
Not this time. So I called the director of the Owen Co. Learning Network to see if she knew anything. (Actually, as I was waiting for Paul to show up this past Saturday, I started browsing the obits in the local paper, just in case....)
She confirmed that indeed Paul had been hospitalized for a blocked/ruptured colon (bleah). She found this out from Burger King, where he works as a janitor. He's at the Owen Valley Health Care NH for rehab, so I'm going to go visit him this week, see what the prognosis is. I have been cautioned not to succumb to his requests for money for snuff and cola. (Damn straight!)
So at least I'm not wondering what's up with him. This makes me sad, though.
(x-posted to ye olde blogge)