It was a Wednesday morning that started out O.K. I ate my cereal without hearing any birds thumping against the kitchen window.

I got to work and before I could put my first load of stuff down, I overheard someone say that the Taco Bell had closed for good the night before.

I returned with another load from the truck and again heard a bit of bad news about a Fountain Hills business. Word has it that Walgreens on Shea is closing.

I had to make one more trip to the truck, but if it meant another piece of bad news, I can wait to empty the truck, I said.

About that time, businesss reporter Barb Charzuk came in confirming the bad news about Walgreens. And she had more to add. “The people at Walgreens told me that the Urgent Care Center on Shea is closing at the end of the month.”

“That’s three,” said Times business manager Kip Kirkendoll. “Bad news usually runs in threes.”

But the bad news wasn’t over. My son Brent came in and said, “Smokies (a new business in Plaza Fountainside) closed.”

I had been trying to reach my friend and computer consultant, Dave Jepson, the day before. He called me back on that Wednesday to tell me he was no longer at Stratus, a company for which he had worked for 23 years.

“A new investor took over Stratus and decided to close the Phoenix office,” he said.

I went to tell Kip, and she said that Bob, the driver from Valley Newspapers, which prints The Times, told her he was headed for Wickenburg after making his delivery of newspapers here.

He said that would probably become the regular routine since their driver had been killed the week before.

I called Wickenburg Sun Publisher Kevin Chloe, but all I got was his voicemail. He called me early the next day and confirmed the bad news.

“He fell asleep going to get the papers at Valley,” he said. “In fact, I was at his funeral when you called yesterday.”

Then I got a call from my brother, Steve. “I called and she’s doing fine, but I took mom to the hospital this morning. She’s in John C. Lincoln,” he said.

When your mom is 87, any trip to the hospital is a concern. Steve said she was extremely dizzy when she either stood up or laid down flat on the bed. She said it felt like the room would start spinning.

“Sounds like a hangover I had once, but we know that she doesn’t drink,” I said, attempting to inject some humor into what had been a nightmare of a day.

“Anyway, they are running a bunch of tests on her. Preliminarily they can’t find anything wrong,” Steve said. “The only thing they found during the tests was she has some arthritis starting in her neck.”

One doctor told her, “I don’t know what you are doing, but keep it up. You’re in incredible condition for your age.”

Camden, our grandson born with the heart defect, was having a minor procedure that day. I was almost afraid to call and see how things went, based on how the rest of my day was going.

Diane said she had heard from daughter Toni and the installation of a feeding tube in Camden’s stomach went well. “In fact, he’s coming home next week,” she said. (He came home for the first time on April 17).

Finally, some good news to end that incredible day.