In the Moo'd

Just spent time pawing through the weekend edition of the L.A.Times for food coupons.

I read recently that the recession is luring more consumers into becoming coupon-clippers. I wonder how many in the clipping community are clipping coupons for food even though they take meals through a G-tube, like me?

Most of the coupons I clipped today for soup, cream of wheat, instant mashed potatoes and Jell-O don't expire till the end of February, and maybe my G-tube days will be behind me by then.

The last calories that passed my lips were in a Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo'd smoothie. I had been having difficulty swallowing for some time, but for some reason I had no problems with the Peanut Butter Moo'd, and I would bolt out of the office daily to head to the Jamba Juice in the Beverly Connection. I kept a Post-It note in my wallet that read "P.B. Moo'd" to hold up to the girl behind the cash register.

I haven't been back to Jamba Juice since the first week of December, when I got my PICC line and then my G-tube. The staff there may be wondering what happened to the mute who got the Moo'd and never dropped anything in the tip jar.

A week from today, my nephew Philip is getting married in Fort Collins, Colo. I have a reservation to fly to Denver on Thursday but it's clear that I'm in no shape to travel.

Besides missing the wedding, I'm passing up an opportunity to see family members from Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Iowa and California. But they all know what's going on, and I hope that they understand why I'm sitting out the celebration.