Welcome From The Chief Editor

Well ... I must first start off by offering up my apologies. If you've been following the Kodi article series, there isn't a Kodi article this month. Between work, being Mr. Mom on the days I'm not working at the hospital, and getting sick twice this past month, I simply didn't have sufficient time to do the Kodi article, as I had planned.

The first time I got sick, it acted more like a summer case of the flu, with fever, chills and body aches. Then, as I was getting over that, I got struck with a mid-summer cold. Thankfully, I already had one article for the August issue completed, and another that was already in the formative stages.

I plan to resume the Kodi article series in the September, 2015 issue. I thought it was better to skip a month, rather than unnecessarily delay the release of the magazine, or publish a half-hearted, half-baked, hastily created Kodi article.

My son, Ryan, got the "bug" rolling through our house. He came down with it first, but you could hardly tell, except for the persistent runny nose he had. Then, my wife got it, and really suffered. She ended up missing a couple of days of work with it. Just when I thought I had dodged the bullet, I got the first go around. After medicating myself into oblivion (and starting to feel better), I picked up a secondary "bug," which manifested itself as a mid-summer cold. YUCK! Back to the medications for a second time.

Working in the hospital, as my wife and I do, we're no stranger to proper handwashing and the other ways to limit the spread of pathogens. But after so many times of wiping Ryan's runny nose, the "chain" got broken somewhere along the line. So our efforts of keeping the "bug" contained -- wiping everything down frequently and well, proper handwashing, proper disposal of contaminated tissues, etc. -- failed.

In reality, I suspect that this is probably just a prelude to when he goes to school, where he's surrounded by other kids who are sent to school ill by their parents, just so the parents don't have to miss work. For this reason especially, elementary schools are germ factories. The kids, bless them, don't know enough about proper hygiene to prevent the spread of illnesses and diseases. So, the "bug" has a fertile breeding ground. When I used to work as a newspaper photographer, I hated going to cover stories at elementary schools. Without fail, I'd always end up sick, picking up some bug from someone's kid who was sent to school sick, all because the parents didn't want to miss work to stay home with their sick child.

But, if the price to pay for being a parent is picking up all these little "bugs" he brings home, I'll gladly "pay" it. August is the month for my son's birthday (August 6), as well as my birthday (August 25). There's not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for Ryan, given how we went through seven years of infertility before he finally came into our lives. Every day is amazing, watching him learn new things, and watching him evolve into such a cool, unique little person. Happy second birthday, son!

Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity ... and good health!