A new blog and a new explanation for why.

Coal Miner's Daughter had started as a project between my daughter and me to document my family and would involve them. However, the key person in that blog, my daughter, had her own things to do and so the blog never caught on. We just never posted to it.

However it has been a favorite name of mine for a blog. So, my wife and I decided this week to resuscitate it and use it to document and discuss, with each other and with our family and friends, the dual challenge we currently face.

Jane is undergoing surgery to investigate whether she has cancer of the ovaries. She and I were fortunate to have found it early. But this is a disease that has me worried, particularly because Jane, who is a bit of a hypochondriac, seems to be so calm about this thing.

On the other hand… I’m pretty god damn upset by it and usually these things don’t phase me.

The second challenge is that I was among the 60 people let go by the Chicago Tribune Co. on Friday. In the scheme of things, I’ll find other work. In the scheme of things I’m not as worried about this as I perhaps should be.

So, that’s a lot on our plates. The plan didn’t call for this. Even two weeks ago, we didn’t expect all of this. Life comes at you fast.

Coal Miner’s Daughter does not refer to my daughter. It actually refers to my mother, Catherine. She is the daughter of a coal miner. It also winks at the movie by that name. So with that acknowledgement, let’s go…