Thanks, all. Yes, Fletch, it's difficult not to feel personally threatened by circumstances that aren't aimed at me at all. Working out a method of communication in advance is a good idea, Maranara. And that's a good point about gratitude, Carol-- it's so easy not to focus on how great it is to have such a friend in the first place when all I can think of is loss. Wish I could wrap my emotions into a tidy parcel and ship them off someplace, but then what would happen to the unsuspecting person who opened the package?