Well, in a not surprising (although distressing) development today, EB's company went out of business. He called me from work at 3:30 as he was packing up the stuff from his desk . . . We knew things were shaky, but figured there were another six months, anyway . . . or at least until February, which is when these things usually happen. (Of course, December runs a close second, in our experience; but at least it's happened in early December, and at least it's happened on a Monday . . . finding out the Friday before Christmas would be much, much worse. That's never happened to him - but it has happened at places where he's worked.)

So this development has thrown a wrinkle into everything. We're not exactly panicked, but then, we haven't watched the paycheck not arrive yet, either; perhaps my perspective will be different in a month or so. But we know there are some possibilities out there, so that feels pretty hopeful. Maybe this won't be a long dry spell, and maybe it won't involve a hideous commute to the eastern Detroit suburbs or anything.

In the meantime, there's not much for me to do but what I was doing anyway . . . I've almost got the semester wrapped up, which is nice. I'm looking forward to a break.

Still no idea what's happening with Emil's father. The latest news is that he's feeling quite good at the moment. The uncles are planning to head for Florida after Christmas, and Kathy thinks that Emil's father might actually want to move up here (either to our house or Kathy's - I'm betting Kathy's). Wherever he moves, if he really does move, that would be truly good news for us. It would be a lot easier to care for him - and he'd get a lot better care - if he were close to all of us, instead of someone having to go down there . . .

On a more upbeat note, the Carly Simon concert was wonderful. By the end of it, the whole audience, practically (all of us between the ages of 45 and 60, Cynthia noted), was dancing in the aisles. Including me and Cynthia, of course - we were screaming out the words to "You're So Vain" along with everybody else in the crowd . . . The encore was "Nobody Does It Better," which was perfect, in my view: I have very fond memories of that song, as I first heard it when I saw my first James Bond movie at a very special time in my life . . . Oh, and her kids (Sally and Ben Taylor) performed with her. Ben, who is a dead ringer for his father, performed "Mockingbird" with her. (Actually, in some ways, that was kinda weird . . . Reminded me of a Dick Cavett show on which Carly and her mother and sisters were the guests, and Dick kind of strongarmed them into performing the doxology, which made the sisters all look very uncomfortable . . . I think it would be very hard for Sally and Ben to carve out musical careers. They both seem to be trying - and Ben's not half-bad - but if I had parents with that kind of notoriety, I think I'd sell used cars . . . anything but follow in their footsteps . . . )

Ah, well. It was an enjoyable evening, made more so by the bike ride to and from the concert.

Well, I'd better get back to knitting . . .