Dodging a bullet...

...a very small one, mind you.

No trip to hell today, where it was (last time I checked an hour ago) a balmy 97 degrees. It's been called off.

Unfortunately, the reason isn't good. D.'s girlfriend called me this morning, in her usual agitated state. Turns out he's been having vision problems the last few days, and she thought he should be going to a doctor instead of spending the afternoon in a blast furnace. I agreed.

But since he tends not to listen to her, I had to call and yell at him. For which I may get deputized to drive him to the M.D. later today. He was not happy about it, and I suspect I may have attracted a small amount of blame for wimping out on a (not terribly important or remunerative) assignment.

I'm not fond of playing middleman in situations like this, not at all. And it's not the first time.

Still, I'm damn glad to have avoided this particular gig, at least until the weather cools off. It wasn't worth the risk to anyone's health.

Now I can sit here and continue with my efforts -- so far not terribly successful -- to get my own work done.