Dana, Shannon and her family are probably all right. Right?

Right. But maybe some checking of local newspapers is in order.

Chances are slim those were all his legal prescriptions, for starters. And how can you tell a suicide mixing all those from an accident? Lack of note? Dinner reservations for the next day?

Depends on the dates of the scripts. If he was travelling a lot and seeing different doctors, it wouldn't have been difficult to get a prescription from a couple of different doctors--especially if they were in different countries. But you've got A LOT more experience with different doctors and drug prescriptions so I'll defer to your opinion.

I think people judge "accidental" by the person's behavior--and yeah, if they had plans or were behaving normally it would point to an accident, rather than suicide.

Suicides usually follow behavioral patterns--wrapping up unfinished business, cancelling appointments, etc.

The combination of being sick with pneumonia and dopey from any of these could result in accidental overdose.

I'm not saying it couldn't be accidental. Once you've started down the road of narcotics all sorts of things suddenly start to seem reasonable that were not before. However, he might have intended to take all that off the bat, and I'm wondering how they told the difference.

I would think that a suicidal overdose would involve great handfuls of one kind of pill, but what do I know.

I asked my students what the deal was with the Hillary-hate, and a bunch of them said they thought electing her would be basically electing Bill again. Mind you, most of them then said they liked Bill Clinton, and wouldn't mind him being president. Which would seem to contradict the hatred, but okay.

It's kind of odd, though. I'm sure he'd have a lot of input, just as she did when he was president, but it would never occur to me to think that she'd, what, be the shy little missus and let him govern through her? That really doesn't fit with the image I have of her.

Accidental or not, still a sad loss.

shrift, they have some school closings and floodings, but I think the worst of it hit west of them.

And how can you tell a suicide mixing all those from an accident? Lack of note? Dinner reservations for the next day?

Degree of digestion.

If you took them all at once its considered intentional, if it was over time its more likely an accident.

Um. In my fridge? Not a ton. Pine nuts, celery, onion, green onion, carrots, broccoli, heavy cream, butter, tomatoes, peas, edamame. I also have potatoes and garlic and a variety of pastas.

Got any recipes for soup/stew?

I see a chicken stew in your fridge. Brown 4-6 thighs in a large pot, using a little oil (I generally use olive oil, but whatever you have is fine). Don’t use a lot of oil, as the fat from the thighs will render during browning. While they are browning, dice onions, carrots, celery (twice as much onion as carrot and celery). Remove chicken from pan, put on plate (not with a paper towel, you want the juices later). Add veggies, along with spices (s&p, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, simon, garfunkel, etc.). Stir, and allow to soften. Add chicken and juices back to pan, cover with water. Turn to low and allow to barely simmer 2-3 hours for best results. If foam rises to surface, skim it off. This isn’t crucial, only if you care if the stock is clear. Before you leave the kitchen, take 2 tbs butter out of fridge allow to soften. [You can cook just until chicken is done, but there’s not as much flavor. If pressed for time, use canned chicken stock instead of water, or throw in a bullion cube or two.]

Okay, you’re back in the kitchen (if this were TV, it would be after the commercial break) with your chicken. At this point, you could just add some noodles and have chicken noodle soup. But, we’re not doing that.

Remove the chicken from the broth. Be careful, it’s lava hot. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then shred the meat using two forks. (I can’t remember if you have bone in thighs, if so, then remove the bones and shred the meat). Return meat to pan. Peel (or don’t peel, up to you) 4 good sized potatoes and cut into one inch dice. Add to pot and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Taste for seasoning. Remember that the potatoes will absorb a lot of salt, so you will probably need to add more at this point. Remember the butter? Yes, now take 2tbs of flour and mash it with the butter to form a paste. Add this mixture to the soup, which will thicken it to stew. If you don’t want to use butter to thicken, you can also remove some of the potatoes and mash them up, then add them back to the stew.

Simmer for another 10 minutes or so, and then you have chicken stew.

I was watching Bittman Monday and he said he prefers chicken thighs to breasts, so he may have some good recipes.

I would think that a suicidal overdose would involve great handfuls of one kind of pill, but what do I know.

That's what I would think-- if his system only has recommended doses of those medications, then it seems unlikely that he was intending to kill himself.