Mortality bites Keillor in the butt

Garrison Keillor, 67, insists he's fine, just fine, after a mild stroke earlier this month. He also tells The Associated Press that he has no plans to retire or to postpone the new season of his Prairie Home Companion that begins Sept. 26. "I'm not a collector of things. I don't have hobbies . . . so work is what I do," he explained. His staff confirmed to Current that Keillor fully intends to participate in the big meatloaf dinner and street dance that traditionally kicks off each first show. Keillor described his experience in the hospital in an essay on Salon.com titled, "Nice 67 y.o. male has brush with mortality." He writes about "when the doctor talks about how you must go on a powerful blood thinner lest a stray clot turn your fine intellect into a cheese omelet, you must now accept being 67 y.o. and do as he says. You had intended to be a natural wonder, an old guy who still runs the high hurdles, but mortality has bitten you in the butt."