It's very hard to write these words without breaking down in weeping, but please, please, please if you can remember Jessica Ogley in your prayers tonight, please do so. As Karly mentioned, little Jessica is a schoolmate of Josh's who underwent surgery today to remove a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball. If the tumor is not cancerous then there is a 90% chance she will recover normally. If it is cancerous, then she will begin the arduous and painful process of chemotherapy.


UPDATE 09/09/03: The doctors believe that they have taken out most of the tumor. Biopsy results have shown the tumor to be cancerous. Please continue to pray for the Ogleys as the parents meet with the doctors to see what options lay ahead.

ALMIGHTY God, and merciful Father, thou who alone canst heal; Behold, we humbly
beseech thee, with the eyes of thy mercy, Jessica for whom our prayers are desired.
If it be thy good pleasure, deliver her, O LORD, from her bodily pain, and prolong her
days here on earth; that she may live to thee, and be an instrument of thy glory. Grant this,
O heavenly Father, for the love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

I have always had bad feet. It's not that they hurt or anything, it's just that no matter how much I wash them (yes, contrary to what some people think, I do actually wash them) the soles of my feet still feel rough, leathery and scaly. Ah yes, nasty feet, 'tis been the bane of Chapas for many generations. And it is true that more than once I have woke my wife up screaming out of a dead sleep by inadvertenly rubbing my "hooves of death" against her. Well anyway, enough background. Last night they were feeling particulary nasty as I walked across our carpet. They were making a "crisp crisp" sound and I was picking up loose carpet with every step.

So I determined to do the drastic. I went into the bathroom and removed my wife's foot spa along with her special creams and ointments. After enduring a few comments of "never being able to use that again", I filled up the spa with hot water from the tea kettle and some moisturizing salts. My fem side was representin' full effect.

As I was readying my feet to plunge into the way too hot water, my wife cautioned me that in order to get my feet to maximum smoothness, that I would have to use the (hopefully I'll spell this right) "sloughing lotion". "Alright, let's see what this can do" I thought. So I put a quarter sized splotch of lotion on my hand and started to rub my foot vigorously. Within 15 seconds there was a 3 inch pile of dead skin collected on the floor. I started to freak out. Though painless and actually smelling quite good, this stuff was literally eating my foot away. After about five minutes of rubbing I took a look at my brand new foot. Huh, what do you know, I actually have pink skin on the sole of my foot. I rubbed my forearm on my heel. No way! There was no red scratch mark left on my arm from the blade-like extensions of dead skin. Amazing!

After giving the treatment to my other foot, I dropped my tootsies into the sufficiently comfortable heat of the water and turned the spa on to "vibrate". After awhile I decided to live a little and I turned it up to full blast with bubbles. I sat there soaking my feet, watching Everybody Loves Raymond. All I needed was some hot tea and some scented candles and my journey to chickdom would be complete. Thankfully I did not push it into the danger zone.

At the end of Raymond, I took my feet out, dried them off, then proceeded to work them over with a strange sandpapery stick thereby completing the job that the sloughing lotion had begun. After that, more lotion was needed to make them silky smooth. Even right now, almost 24 hours after the treatment, they still feel nice and soft.

After a night of pampering, I now see why my wife steals off to the nail spa every now and then to get a pedicure. Heck, I might even join her next time she goes. But no way in hell am I going to pay extra for those little stars that they put on your toes.

After all, I have to maintain some semblance of masculinity. Just the red polish for me please.