Recent events revolving around my father’s ailment have resulted in several visits back home this month. The most recent trip was a late night drive along dark interstate highways and a rest stop at an eerily quiet McDonald’s with a cabal of suspicious-looking truckers. The shadow of the rain clouds followed us home on Sunday, leaving us exhausted and drenched. After the drive, we warmed up at La Morra, where notables from the Restaurant Week menu included chicken livers with a light and creamy fried polenta, an oyster mushroom risotto with an al dente texture, a meaty but delicate monkfish entree, and a refreshing maple panna cotta. A second attempt to drown my troubles with food was unsuccessful. At Beacon Hill Bistro, my vegetarian selections included an under-salted, over-sweetened butternut squash veloute and what I deemed “the $33 onion” – a red onion stuffed with carrot cumin puree over kimchee and wild rice, a dish that left me thinking WTF? My DC (“dining companion” in Chowhound lingo) was better satisfied with a cockles and mussels appetizer, roasted skate wing entree, and delicious chocolate cake with chai spice and chai-poached pear. Sadly, the current deluge has even eaten through our condo roof, as we watched the rain water seep through the cracked ceiling paint. I await the storm clouds to dissipate, and look forward to brighter days ahead.