Hi, Rusty!
Well, I returned to my puzzle to see if absence had made the heart grow fonder...... but it and I are never going to hit it off!
I have done my best...indeed I am quite pleased by my efforts, but there are still nine clues remaining unsolved .....
I especially like 22a : Abednego; 3d: Tsunamis ; and 22d: aphid.
I got the homophone in 21d ...for once, I could not quibble about the pronunciation ......"O'Neill" does sound like "oh, kneel", surely, in anyone's book!
I am annoyed by the surgery incident.
A receptionist phoned first, asking my husband to book a phone consultation with the doctor - the date (today) and the time given was at her instigation.
As such, it should have been adhered to.......
Or at the very least, there should have been a phone call offering an explanation for the failure to follow through.
Now my husband has to wait to see what Monday brings.....
As you said, it is not good to leave patients worrying as to what is going on......
Will your son be coming to visit, as it is Thursday?