Update on John L. Parker, from John L. Parker

For those who have been thinking of and praying for John, the latest is that he is now off all mechanical heart support and is progressing quite well.  For journal entries, go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnlparker

The most recent entry is from John himself.  It reads, in part,

For those that did not catch last night’s update, please take a look. John himself posted a note to all of you that have so faithfully followed the events of the last three weeks. I am currently sitting at Logan Airport in Boston waiting for my flight home. Unlike my last trip back to Florida I will probably be able to get some rest during the flight. John was a little groggy after this morning’s test but he was resting well when I departed Brigham & Womens. Here are a couple of updates regarding John’s condition. The physical therapy folks were in yesterday to give John a few exercises to do to help build strength. All of his “numbers” remain good although there are fewer to look at. As his condition improves there is less to monitor. Comments from all of the doctors remain positive and uplifting and are still being modified by “amazing” and “incredible”. There is much work to be done but he is committed to the program. Catherine will remain in Boston for a couple of more days; she will pass the torch to Tom Raynor later this week. John’s cousin Debra will be stopping in, as will his fiends Caldwell and Alice Smith. Once John has his laptop I will be passing the update responsibilities off to him and I can’t wait to do just that. Even though I have found a certain amount of honor in being his spokesman, or as he put it, a stand in JP. JP3

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Hi everyone. This is a quick note from the actual JP, not a stand-in. I’ll have a lot more to say in coming days about this long strange journey I’ve been on, but I just wanted to pop on quickly to thank everyone who has commented on this web page or sent good wishes, prayers, or (what we used to call in the 60’s) good vibrations my way. I have read every single comment and many brought actual tears to my eyes. Novelists try very hard to make hard fast connections with their readers and I have been aware over the years from the occasional note, letter or email that I had at least partially succeeded with *Once a Runner* years ago. But the comments and good wishes from readers on this web page and elsewhere have been just plain humbling.Thanks to my brother Jerry, and my wonderful Catherine, for everything. In “everything,” I include–literally–my life.

Link to “Andrew Meyer and the Greater Good”

By now, the tazering (or would it be tazing) of a Florida college student  at a John Kerry forum has been seen and discussed in blogs all over the web.  I have jumped into a couple of those discussions, and was not going to post anything about the incident here. But the best laid plans of mice and men… (READ MORE…)