What's with the crazy double post?

It's just the peeling that takes the time, aside from baking (obviously). Are there any potential helpers around?

Burrell, as soon as I get my feet more under me again, low gly apple pie is coming your way--I didn't forget, and the apples are quite balefully reproaching me, even around the corner from the kitchen.

Instead spent the hour revising the obit. That's why I don't like writing obits.

I'm sorry you have to do it, Burrell.

Huh -- just saw a gay tourism ad for Key West. I would say, wouldn't anyone who would want to go there already know about it, but I guess that's the same thing with Disney, and they advertise a ton.

Burrell, would you like me to take a look at it? In my newspaper days, I wrote many obits.

Cue the Mary Tyler Moore Show ep of Mary and Rhoda drunkenly updating the station obit file.

My work has been dealing since yesterday afternoon with various members of a group of 10 people who are going to China on 11/22 (yes, folks, in less than 2 weeks) and need passports and visas. We accept passport applications at work - with the time frame these people have, we require 1-hour appointments to do a special hand-carry application that goes via a 3rd party expediter. We are largely booked up for tomorrow already (we make appointments from 3pm on and take walk-ins 9-2:30) and I am so dreading working with these people when they actually start turning up all day tomorrow. All of the people I have talked to have uptalking very young woman voices. I should start an office pool about how many of them will be missing vital parts of the application and/or forget their checkbooks. When our Head Passport Guy talked to them yesterday, apparently they don't even have plane tickets yet (which are required to do a hand-carry passport; you have to have a valid travel itinerary showing you leave in less than 2 weeks.) I also feel like calling the nearest Chinese consulate to warn them now.

I started as a newspaper reporter back when newspapers wrote obits of everyone. As soon as I got in at 8 a.m., I had the thrill of calling people whose loved ones had just died. It was excellent training, but sometimes wrenching.