Blogs

I just finished reading the latest post from my old friend Al's newly revived blog. Al and I have been good friends since ninth grade. Unfortunately we now live half a continent apart, but still stay as close as brothers. Al's blog, The Diatribe, is aptly titled. Al is one of the smartest people I know (though I had to get him through Algebra in eleventh grade; sorry, old friend), but he doesn't suffer fools or foolishness easily. He'll probably post whenever something annoys him, which should be quite often. He's a real writer, a lifelong advertising copywriter still working at his advanced age, not a pretend writer like yours truly.


Our daughter-in law Melissa, the mother of our grandkids, is a nurse practitioner who has been a stay-at-home mom since Jacob was born seven years ago. In addition to taking care of two kids, she is very involved in school and community affairs, and is very much a leader in whatever she undertakes. For the last year she has been raising chickens and now has quite a brood. To get an idea of her involvement, and of her artistic ability, take a look at her blog, Tilly's Nest.  She also recently started a community garden at Jacob's school and has mobilized a tremendous amount of community support to help her. Naturally, she has another blog for the garden, The Garden at BCHMCPS. In addition to the garden, Melissa has taught gardening to enrichment clusters of students in grades K-3 at Jacob's school. In her own words (from the  garden blog):

During the first week, we learned about seeds and created seed wreaths.  Last week, we learned about composting.  We built our own worm composter by combining worms, soil, newspaper, egg shells, lettuce and various microorganisms.  The students had a fantastic time and so did we.  This worm composter will transition into our garden this Spring.  Tomorrow, we will be learning about growing zones.  We will be planting potatoes utilizing two different techniques and attempt to grow a pineapple. 

I've told her that if I ever owned a company (which I wouldn't), I'd choose her for my CEO. Screenshots of the blogs are below. Wish I had just a fraction of that artistic ability...

The Chicken Blog

The Garden Blog

Finally, I have to mention another blog I've been following. My daughter Jill sent me a link shortly after I started treatment. Ezra is a New Yorker, the brother of a friend of Jill's, who has been battling colorectal cancer since August 2008. He has been through hell and back. He is an amazing writer and an amazing person, truly inspirational. When I read his posts I realize how easy I've had it, how almost trivial my problems have been. Ezra has a great sense of humor and a marvelous spirit. His language is often raw - he is after all a New Yorker - but if you are not too delicate it's well worth a look. The blog is at Teaching Cancer to Cry.

I met with the radiologist today in Boston. The plan is for me to get 3 - 4 weeks of radiation at BMC, starting in late May and going through late June if they can schedule me in. The radiation should get anything the chemo might have missed. Then, hopefully, I'll be done with doctors and hospitals for a while.