Valerie:

Everything has changed for me, I see things through different eyes. I had to rush back to New York state. My father goes into surgery tomorrow to remove a brain tumor. The shock of this has affected me more than the politics of our bar can.

This emergency hasn't changed my reslove to get through all the muck and have the place Clayton and I want. It's only made me realise how petty everything becomes when a family member is facing a serious surgery. I know the stress will become no less real and there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to get to where we want to be. In my heart I know we can make it through all this but right now I'm too scared about tomorrow to focus on the neverending battle with the city. I've got to get through the battle up here in New York first with my family.