I'm sipping a 12-ounce glass of Jim Bean Honey Bourbon, and feeling great. Just can't breathe worth a damned, but the Jim Bean sure helps the back pain.

Alan, yes, I do have asbestosis, and thank goodness it has not turned into mesothelioma, which is often the case. When I worked in the field of medicine, my specialty was cardio-pulmonary diseases, but I also had a fair degree of knowledge of other disease entities. Unfortunately, because I worked extensively in this field, I know the outcome of my malady. As I sit here in front of my PC typing this, each breath is labored and this will progressively get worse until the end. Slow suffocation is a really bad way to die. I think when the end is near, I have a big bottle of pills that I just may have to swallow and get it over with while I'm blasted out of my mind.

All the best,

Gary