Dear Readers,

I know, I haven’t been blogging a lot in the past few weeks. I’m sorry about that and the problem is now being addressed.

To keep it short, I felt awful. I had some blood pressure issues, and then I made it worse by forgetting to take the medication I needed. Big problem. I had the mother of all headaches. I was about to take some more pain killer when one of Suzen’s culinary advisors, who is a former nurse, just said, “No. Call your doctor.” Left unsaid was “You’ve been stupid enough already.”

I will say this about Weill Cornell doctors, they are truly spot on. I called my primary there, left a message, and ten minutes later the on-call doctor was addressing my problem. [And the next day the primary followed up!]

“Have you had any caffeine, today?” the on-call doctor asked. Now, I will lie to my wife, but never to my doctor.

“I did have one Pepsi,” I admitted. And, yes, it was only one. “But I can stop.”

“Oh, no,” she reassured me. “Caffeine is just what you need.”

“Chocolate?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Coffee, cappuccino?”

“Yes. It’s just fine for you now.”

What a day! To be able to tell Suzen that honestly a doctor was ordering me to drink Pepsi was an experience that transformed the marriage. The look on her face was so unusual. The combination of relief and disbelief seemed to stress many of her facial muscles.

I’m fine now, and I will resume frequent blogging.

Of course, there is yin and yang. My urologist has told me to avoid caffeine for prostate reasons. I have a growing feeling — and I really do have some feeling there — that I may be calling him next.

There will be a chocolate recipe tomorrow. To hell with it, it’s gelato and a holiday weekend.