From:
North of Jewfish Creek

Dear Friend & Gary Halbert Subscriber,

This letter is not being written by Gary Halbert. It is being written by his #1 Trusty Assistant, Theresa. As you may know, I've been Gary's personal assistant for 14 years.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why you haven't heard from Gary for a while. The answer is very simple. He's sick. Matter of fact, he's been sick for over a month now. Because he's been sick for so long, he finally went to the doctor's yesterday. The doctor put him on antibiotics and told him if he gets complete bed rest for the next week or so, he ought to be good as new in no time.

You know, Gary can be a very frustrating person. On one hand, he's one of the toughest and strongest men I know. The work he generates is not only excellent, it's also an enormous amount. But, on the other hand, when he is sick, he's like a little baby and very fussy.

Did you know Gary's literally afraid of doctors? That's why it took him so long before he finally broke down to see this guy yesterday. He's so petrified of them, he's actually fainted twice in their offices!

Well, it turns out Gary has a rather simple virus. If he had gone to the doc's a month ago when he first started feeling ill, he probably would have been completely over his "bug" two or three weeks ago. But, that's not Gary. He had to be half-dead before he went to see the doctor. And now Gary's paying the price.

Sometimes, when Gary is "under the weather", I'm able to go to Miami and help nurse him back to health. Hot chicken noodle soup, hot herbal teas, lots of vitamins, etc. But this time, even back when Gary first started to get sick, I wasn't able to make that trip.

No, this time I was already being a nurse to someone else. Someone who's more important to me than Gary. That's my father.

My Dad's been diagnosed with Advanced Stage IV Cancer in a number of his vital organs. I don't want to go into all the details but, the outlook is bleak. Gary had made a very generous offer to me. He said I could temporarily move and work from my parents' home in North Carolina so I could help them through this very trying time.

Now you can understand why our office has been in a little bit of a dishevel lately. Obviously, we're in a "handicapped" situation. That explains why you may not have received a return phone call back from either of us. Or maybe you sent an e-mail and you're still waiting on a response. We're trying to work through all this and hope you'll be understanding and patient.

I know this may sound rather harsh but, if you know of anyone who can put up with a whining, sniveling man, please see if they're willing to move to Miami and take care of Gary. The honest-to-God truth is, Gary's been much more of a complainer than my Father (even though Dad's the one facing this life-threatening disease).

In closing, I'd just like to say "Thanks". "Thank you, Gary," for allowing me to work such a long distance and odd hours. "Thank you, Gary's Subscribers," for waiting a little longer than normal for replies to your queries.

Copyright © 2003 Gary C. Halbert.  All Rights Reserved.