Bono Is On A Journey, I Followed Him On It!

U2 in Manhattan in "Your The Best Thing About Me"

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Here are the boys from Dublin, in a great video to a great song.  It was directed by Jonas Akerlund, whose work is always interesting and I love anything by U2!  The song is "You're the Best Thing About Me" and the video is the band touring Manhattan.  The song is great, I've watched the video about a bajillion times because my PS is learning to play it.  It's clever and infectious and the video was shot in the neighborhood (Hell's Kitchen) we toured.  After seeing a show ("The Book of Mormon"), we went all over the neighborhood looking for pizza (a buck, really). The band toured  Manhattan in a double decker bus, we did too.  Writers hailed this video as a "love letter to NYC."  Maybe.  It reminds me of some of the stuff we saw (and ate) in New York.  It's happy!  That "movie" completely depicted my experience there.  The PS and I went to some of the same places as Bono and The Edge!  Cool!  But cold is cold.  Frigid temperatures stop me in my tracks.  Cold doesn't work for me.

New York was cold!

  At some point we ducked into a decent looking bar that had a menu, mostly to get out of the cold.

After thawing a little, I looked around.  Once I realized I wasn't going to get shot I noticed the ceiling tiles and the great wood flooring!  People were deep in conversation and nobody smoked.  They served coffee - I was in heaven!  And it was warm!  So, this morning we're watching the video (again) and the PS was playing when he yells, "Peanuts" style, "That's It!"

We paused, rewound and froze the video and saw we had wandered into The Blue Ruin the same bar that U2 was in! We were there! Recently!  Upon spotting that little connection the PS was happier than I'd seen him in years, you'd think he won the Nobel prize! No, we were in NYC looking for food, U2 did the same thing!  How cool is that?

Looking at our photos it occurred to me that I might have actually enjoyed myself!  Freezing, in a wheelchair, ubering all over NYC, was amazing!  Dare I say it? It was fun!  It took six years, but I finally was silly, goofy and adventurous again!  I had a little fun!  It didn't last long, I didn't expect it but amusement was briefly mine!  Is there anything Bono can't do?

Cookies $ Cancer Both Are Important - Tis' the Season!

Hello Fellow Travelers!

They're Back!

Winter tends to be dreary and long for me. I really dislike being chilly, I hate being cold.  I can't wait for Spring!  Winter and snow are not magical they're just friggin' cold!  One of the few great things that happen in Winter is ginger creations are available.  Gingerbread people, houses and my personal favorite:  Nyackers Ginger Thins.  I abstain from sugar as a rule, but I'll smash the doctor's orders for these!  That's how good they are.  You can pick them up at any World Market for 12 bucks!  Or on Amazon for $20!  These are the best ginger thins you can buy.  They break easy so they're no good for home building or any construction projects.  Nyackers are just great cookies.  They're light, fragrant and perfectly balanced.  An excellent partner to both tea and coffee.  They taste like winter!

The other good news I had this week is I met a new doctor.  His name is Dr. Ruben and he's an ophthalmologist.  The person who administered the eye tests, was named Dipti.  After an extensive eye exam, he came in and informed us that he couldn't help me, that eye surgery probably wouldn't relieve my double vision.  After suggesting I"cover one eye" (Captain Morgan?) we left.  Upon returning home my PS remarked the appointment "had been a waste of time".  I disagree.  Meeting Dr. Ruben means I met another doctor who knows cancer (and eyes).

Dr. Ruben removed one more question, I can eliminate one more idea.   I'll meet every doctor in California, if that is what it takes, and then if none has a solution, I'll go to a different insurance company and meet all their brain dudes.  I'll keep seeing providers until I meet the doctor who has my answer.  I know it's out there, somewhere, I just have to find it.

While my odyssey continues (longer than Viet Nam) I'll be in Heaven with Nyackers.

Surprises & Planning - Always Be Ready For The Next One

St. Rose's in Roseville
Stained Glass in Afternoon Sunnlight

Hello Fellow Travelers!

I am committed to factual reporting on this journey.  I would be less than diligent therefore if I failed to report the following:  I recently flew across this nation to NJ for a fantastic wedding.  I planned every item for every hour. It wasn’t just a trip it was a strategic deployment.  I checked the weather forecasts, I brought only what was absolutely required. I had packs and packs of anti-bacterial  wipes.  I had several pairs of gloves.  I was prepared!  I have to count my wheelchair as a checked bag, so I pack as little as possible. I had thought I was prepared for any imaginable possibility, but once again, I was literally and figuratively blindsided by an unforeseen event.  I was having my hair cut when my stylist customarily asked, “Are we doing your eyebrows today?”  She usually did them, I can no longer see my eyebrows and it’s cheap so I figured, “Why not?”  Since my brain surgery she had waxed my eyebrows many times.  So what happened next was a fluke, an unfortunate accident.  In an effort to have one less thing to be bothered with, one less detail to manage, I got burned!  Literally!  She burned my eyelids!  I would have laughed (it was actually pretty funny) but it really hurt!  Because I have an unusually high pain tolerance, I didn’t feel the burn until the next day! And it hurt! What really “burns” me (besides wax) is that this was an unforced error – totally self-induced, like North Korea. ( I hadn’t thought of NK in ages and now we’re all gonna die) I am at my maximum capacity for disasters of any kind.  No floods or earthquakes or a bad, facial burn (insert joke here) was nothing I needed. Proving once again that you have to be ready for anything!  And almost everything is funny!

The real tragedy waiting  for me in California was the passing of Father Mike McKeon.  The PS and I went to St. Rose’s on Thursday for Fr. Mike’s memorial.  The church was packed!  I only managed to get seated because I’m in a wheelchair.   We had seen him recently in Woodland, not looking like anything other than a man who needed some TLC and a lot of rehab.  Mike died while I was in NY.  We had planned on seeing him again.  I thought he was recovering.  I had a new stress ball (a little rubber ball for increasing hand strength) to give him.  I asked the PS to take a lot of family photos at the wedding to show him.  I adored the “sisters”(actual siblings) caring for him.  I don’t know much about God or Roseville but I do know a thing or two about brain surgery and I know A LOT about physical rehabilitation.  I felt like there was a unique opportunity for me to help.  Even if you’re confined to bed, there are things you can do. I had plans for him!  Rehab plans! Exercise is always possible.  I was therefore uncharacteristically sad leaving NJ, as Albert Brooks said in “Finding Nemo”, “Good feeling, gone.”

On the flight back to San Francisco I watched a very sad movie. Lovely! Thank You, Rooney Mara!  Again, I wasn’t looking for drama!  I was freaking bereft already!  Is it too much to ask for “A Ghost Story” to be just a stupid horror film?  But noooo, it starred Casey Affleck and was a soul-crushing tale about undying love and death.  I was riveted!  I thought a lot about Mike on the flight.  No!  Too sad.  Too soon.  Did he know what was happening? Did he feel loved? Was he scared?   Did he know how much he meant to so many?  I hope so!  My PS said he entered an overflowing St. Rose’s for his retirement like a rock star!  I believe it.  I felt that quality.  Mike gave a speech at my father-in-law’s  90^th birthday where he said someone should write about the folks who “came over” from Ireland.  He probably wasn’t addressing me, but I heard him nonetheless.

While I consider that challenge, I will continue my search for answers.  I miss Mike.