Poor Lofdoc's Almanac

A humble and grateful confession! Many months ago, when I had completed and had published my third book, Lofdoc's Stories: Short and Sweet, with the subtitle "An Octogenarian's Oracles," I was asked the question "Will this, your third book, be your final contribution to the world of literature?" I responded by saying, "I would love to continue exploring new vistas, but the laws of nature will always have the final say; after all, I am eighty-nine years old." Well, now, the rest of the story. I guess I am no different than anyone else; after all, we are all birds of a feather, are we not? When the mountain climber was asked "Why do you climb mountains?" his answer was "Because it is there." And so it is with me. I write because I am still here. But I confess that I reverently hope that I would still be around to continue to tell you the "rest" of my stories. So yes, dear reader, I have poured many hours of pure joy into this, my fourth book. There are stories titled "Crying Out in the Wilderness," "The Ten Armed Swimmer," "Quackery," "The Sand Dollar," "Treasures of a Nursing Home," etc. I have tried to be accurate, sincere, and entertaining. I have given you a new world of thoughts and remembrances that you will hopefully embrace and enjoy. I sincerely believe this, my fourth volume, represents the best of all my lifetime literary efforts. I hope you will embrace and enjoy my little stories as much as I have loved writing them. I now give you Lofdoc's fourth book. Oh, by the way, perhaps you might want to know about my use of the name Lofdoc as my pseudonym. No secret. I love fishing, so Lots of Fishing Doc. Yes, I am a retired doctor of medicine. I had practiced medicine (solo) for over thirty years in Ohio. I now devote most of my time caring for my medically wounded angel, my wife of sixty-five years. Andrew Opritza, MD, FACP