I got a call from my parents yesterday. Not good. My dad has lymphoma, and has just started chemotherapy. The good news is, they caught it relatively early, he's been in superb physical shape up to this point, and there's a 65% or better survival rate. He's in good spirits, even went for a walk that morning. But the first round of chemo was rough, and I can imagine that this will take a lot out of him, and he won't ever be as healthy as before.

Both my parents have been avid mountain climbers, both in the US and overseas. When I was a kid I climbed the 4000-footers of New England with them, and they have since gone on to climb taller mountains in the US, as well as in Asia. But since his small stroke a couple of years ago he has been restricted to elevations below 9000 feet.

I haven't been keeping in regular contact with my parents recently but I'm going to make an effort to keep in touch more regularly from now on.