For Buster...

No Rundown today. This one is real personal, so if you're not into that, come back tomorrow.

I'm asking for your strength and your prayers.

My grandpa and namesake - Edgar Gordon Levy - is in the hospital right now. He went in a couple days ago and while one concern has been dealt with, there are still a handful of unanswered questions to go along with the knowledge that at age 90, being in the hospital is never a good thing.

Buster is the only grandfather I have ever known; my dad's dad died when the old man was six, but somehow, Buster more than made up for the lack of a paternal grandfather. He was the best. Hell, he still is the best.

A gifted and talented artist, I know my passion for prose comes through him, as page upon page of handwritten notes and letters used to arrive at the house about once every two weeks. Some of his paintings still hang in Faye's apartment and I hope to one day scam one from her to have in our place.

Around Cornwall, he is the master of the St. Lawrence - the guy you need to talk to when you're heading out onto the water in search of perch, bass, pike or anything in between. Buster has the spots, the status report and the best homemade minnow traps every produced. Besides, a bad day on the water is better than a good day anywhere else...

Except at the track!

That love of horse racing that courses through the veins of Pete and I may come from Faye and Phil, but Faye sure as shit got it from her old man. For the last I don't know how many years, he's stashed away his allowance every week to build "The Bankroll," a pocket full of potential to wager at the wickets on longshots, sure things and hot tips at the track. Whether it be the old days of crossing the bridge to Massina, New York or hitting one of the shady spots that ran OTB in Cornwall itself, if we were in town, we made a trip to the track.

My mind is going to be preoccupied a little until I know what's going to happen with my grandpa, so I apologize in advance if I miss giving you your fix over the next couple of days...

I'm talking to you here Newt! Just kidding...

I'll be here and I will keep you posted.

When I talked to him last week he told me how proud he was that I had found something I was passionate about, so I can't stop, not for nothing.

That's the way he would want it.