[Dean Carl crossed the rainbow bridge]

Godspeed, Dean. You were sort of the Poet Laureate of this site....so much wisdom, thought and beauty in your posts.

Dean has left us all a wonderful legacy of taking Life for what it is, finding pleasure in the small things, and floating on the surface of much that might disrupt our serenity. We are all better for having "known" him.

Please pass my sincere condolences on to Gay and thank her for taking such wonderful care of our friend Dean. We will miss him terribly, as I know she will...but our lives have all been enriched by Dean in some way.

Dean Carl was a very special man.

[Surgery Tomorrow]

All good thoughts, vibes, wishes, prayers AND chickens are on their way to you, Fay.

Will be thinking of you especially around the time of surgery...and hoping to hear from you very soon, that you're on the mend and feeling lots better.

Let us hold your pork chop...you just concentrate on healing and getting well, ok?

[Getting to know you - September 6]

Red, I think. Red is a happy color for me.

Years ago, in the big 64 box they used to have a color called Heliotrope. Anyone else remember that color? It was sort of a purple color and back then, it was my favorite.

As a young girl I did "fashion design" and one of my best dresses, on paper, was made of a Heliotrope colored fabric. It was designed for Patrice Munsel. Anybody remember HER?

Needless to say, y'all don't go out and buy my label...so my fashion design "career" began AND ended during my childhood. Ms. Munsel doesn't know what she missed.

[A little help for Katrina victims]

Ann....bless your heart AND thanks for reminding me about Oriental Trading....I LOVE that place. What a neat thing to package all the goodies in a can. Heck...if you do it again, lemme know as I might have stickers and a few other things here that you could use...ok?

Well, Missy Newspaper Photographer either changed her mind about the "human interest of toilet paper" or I broke her camera with the sheen off my bald head...but nothing has been in the paper!

Now...today, hubby and I went to Costco again after radiation. They had NO Purell but for the large countertop size but the guy in the pharmacy REALLY liked my idea of the 2 oz size in bulk and suggested I leave a suggestion in the suggestion box! Made sense to me....so I did. Maybe Costco will start carrying the wee bottles in bulk.

But aside from that we got diapers, toothbrushes, paper towels, water again...and then we went to the Dollar store and got about $50 bucks worth of coloring books and those preschool type work books for spelling, the alphabet, numbers, etc., plus crayons, colored pencils and markers.

Paul will drop them off at Town Hall tomorrow while I'm in the toaster.

Today, I saw the rad onc too...and guess who gets to start weaning off Decadron AS SOON AS RAD IS OVER!?? Can you guess who?

I go immediately to 2 mgs. daily for a week, then 2 mgs. every other day for another week...THEN DONE!

Maybe I can start to have a normal sleep pattern again, huh? Jeez...I think I just hijacked my own thread here...so I'll quit and go take a nap!

[Recipe Book Submitted]

Well, shoot....40-60 days down the road I'm gonna be OFF the Decadron...so it will take me longer to eat my way thru all the recipes!

Thanks, Andrea, for all you've done with this cook book...AND to your readers/proofers/assistants. I am looking forward to ordering. Like Ry, I think it will make a great Christmas gift

Did anyone submit a good recipe for Thai pork or chicken satay?

[To the Shore]

Aw, dang it...you mean you have to ACTUALLY GO TO THE BEACH to get the Cabana Boy pass, Ry?

That doesn't seem fair somehow. I'd like the Cabana Boy and I'd like to be able to stay put right here. Is that possible?

And I'd like him before I get off Decadron...cuz...ya know....I seem to have more energy now....if ya catch my drift.

Is he accompanied by a bottle of Tequila by any chance, she asked, ever hopeful?????

[To the Shore]

I agree with Cindi. If these are truly good friends...they will not only accept that due to back and lc issues you cannot carry anything heavy...but they will jump right up to carry things FOR you.

I cannot imagine that old, good friends of many years duration would make you feel you are "ruining their fun" by facing your own reality.

Tell them once, up front....."Look, I won't talk about my bad back or l.c. if you guys will just accept that I have BOTH and cannot physically do what I did in the past. If it is too burdensome for you..or if I am indeed 'ruining your fun' then don't invite me along anymore. I have to deal with what I have to deal with...and you guys pretending it doesn't exist is of NO help to me.

"I have no need to spend our time together complaining about my physical limitations....but neither am I gonna lug anything heavy around just because YOU guys don't want to face that I'm physically not the same as I was a few years ago.

"Now...having said that...I need help with my suitcase and whatever we carry down to the beach...and beyond that I will be my normal, sparkling and witty self and none of you will have to think about bad backs or cancer...agreed?"

And if they don't agree...you still have to take care of you, Kasey...so if they wanna go play beach volleyball or bench press hunky lifeguards...hey, you go out on the balcony with some binoculars and watch from a distance.

And next year, you're sorry but you must go to England to have lunch with the Queen and will be unavailable for the beach trip!

[Lucie Update 09/02]

Don't know how I missed this...but Lucie always has my very best thoughts anyway, so I'll just ratchet them up a bit to cover this little setback. I hope the chemo cocktail wipes it all out...and I also know having you by her side, Don, is like a magic weapon too!

[Home from the hospital...SIX DAYS!]

Great to see you back and in fine fettle, Miss Cindi! You have been missed....LOTS.

Now hie your butt down to the Pub, open up and start slicing some limes, will ya? You got a bunch of parched people here waitin' on one of your famous Margaritas!!

Seriously......glad to have you back and hope the ( ) holes in your side heal up real soon. Watch them carefully....and make sure you RUN to the docs if you see any signs of infection...you hear?

[Dean & Gay~ an update 9/6]

Dean & Gay...nothing but warm and appreciative thoughts of you, now and always.

Your courage and dignity in how you've faced everything...is quite phenominal. I wish you peace on the rest of your journey.

[How and when do you tell people about your lung cancer?]

It took me a few days to absorb it all myself...and so initially I just told family and my closest friends.

But in rather short order, I didn't care who knew. I knew I was gonna go bald with tx, and having no other "good reason" for showing up at the golf course without hair...I figured I'd best explain what the heck was going on!

The only time I feel "awkward" about it...for lack of a better word....is around little kids. They really don't understand a bald woman...and if they ASK me (I love that kids are so honest! ), I just say I had to take a very special kind of medicine that made my hair go away. I'm careful to say it's a kind of medicine that isn't "normally" given...because I don't want kids to fear getting an aspirin or cough medicine or something.

But otherwise...I don't care who knows. Like Rich I told everyone who seemed to have a sorrowful reaction to SHED NO TEARS FOR ME. That I'd tell them when the time came for tears...but for now...Onward and Upward. Strong positive thoughts that there was treatment and I was going to get thru it.

I still feel that way...altho hubby and I have shed a few tears in two very short pity parties, when the cancer came back twice. Still...I've beaten it back once and I just know this current radiation is taking care of the brain boogers. Played nine holes yesterday and am doing the same thing today, so a BIG OL' RASPBERRY ON CANCER!! LIVING is a lot more fun...right?

[Mark VR is doing and feeling pretty good]

Mark.....my Onc always says that how I look and feel tells him as much as the test results/scans do!! So the fact that you're feeling good is sorta like money in the bank!

Hoping for continued shrinkage...and know that radiation is often not as fearsome as we think it will be. I got thru 31 days of chest rad, relatively unscathed....but you might ask your onc about Amifostine shots. It protects the esophagus but not everyone can tolerate them. I had to take an anti-nausea pill 1/2 hr before the injection...and then you have to stay put for 15 minutes to make sure your b.p. doesn't drop. Mine never did and I tend to have sorta low b.p. anyway.

Good luck with whatever comes next and keep us posted...but so far, it all sounds like great news. Keep that up!!!

[A little help for Katrina victims]

Most individuals cannot come close to doing what a large company or corporation can do...whether it's donated $$$ or goods.

But every little bit adds up, I figure. And it is a nice feeling to do something tangible...so we have the next Costco list all made up to buy and deliver to City Hall.

There should have been a more rapid response...and I don't know if we'll ever have the truth on why it didn't happen. But one thing I DO know...is that I don't blame the helicopter pilots for going away when people on the ground were SHOOTING AT THEM.

The looting of water or food makes some sense. I heard even some police officers looted a kitchen somewhere for food and water so they could continue to do their jobs.

But the looting of beer and electronics or anything other than food/water is unconscionable.

On my one and only camping trip of my whole life...I was miserable. Had to hike nearly a 1/2 mile uphill to use the john. No shower for two days. My hair turned to brillo pads from the mist off the lake and the mere thought of putting a worm on a hook at 5:00 while the guys were eating baloney sandwiches and drinking beer for breakfast made me want to puke. It was impossible to get comfy in a four person tent, lakeside, without even an air mattress under me...so didn't get much sleep. Oh, and one of the guys snored to beat the band.

And it all was NOTHING compared to what is happening to the poor victims of Katrina.

If we all do what we can...it WILL help...even if it seems small compared to the enormity of the destruction. The more people who donate something...the more people who get some relief.

P.S. Nothing in the paper today. Think I broke the camera? Maybe tomorrow...Sundays they are usually scrounging for news other than Saturday night DUIs!

[tarceva is working!!!]

Thumbs up for some good news!! Glad to hear this, Melinda. Keep us posted.

[Joels CT Results.....]

Well this news just might UP the liquor consumption for the weekend, eh? A few toasts to Joel's good health being made, perhaps?

Congrats to you both and an oversized WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO. This is fabulous news!

By the time Cindi gets back to open up the Pub, there's gonna be a lot of parched people lined up. Think she'll lob cocktail onions at us?

[A little help for Katrina victims]

Today was a feel good day.

First, it was announced in our newspaper that Danbury Town Hall would collect donated items for hurricane victims, for transport to one of the state Armories. All the Armories are accepting donations of water, packaged foodstuff, etc.

Since there isn't an Armory within 35-40 mins. of us, we loaded up on water, batteries and toilet paper at Costco and took it to City Hall. Wouldn't you know, a photographer was there from the local paper and apparently I was the first one to think of toilet paper ...so after we carried in all our stuff, the gal w/ the camera asked if I'd carry in the t.p. again so she could get a picture. Too bad I wasn't wearing a LCSC tee shirt too, eh?

Anyway, I struggled my way through the door again with a 24 pack of t.p. and she snapped away so I guess The Decadron Lady could end up in the paper with An Armload of Toilet Paper.

Then...last evening I wrote to Pfizer...the maker of Purell, the hand sanitizer you can carry in your purse or pocket. They make 2 oz bottles and I use the stuff a lot when my counts are low. I requested that they donate as many of those little bottles as possible to Katrina victims. I did get a reply saying my email had been forwarded to "the appropriate personnel".

But hubby tells me Pfizer just lost a humongous law suit...so how amenable they'll be to my suggestion...I dunno. I just thought with as much filth, debris and even dead bodies floating in the water down there...that anything that would help sanitize would be a good thing.

We're gonna see if they carry those single wipe, individually packaged sanitizers in bulk at Costco next time we go up for stuff to donate. Also diapers, baby wipes and even some of that pedialyte stuff.

I may even send some more toilet paper and some paper towels this time. I don't imagine even a 24 pack of t.p. will go very far. At least it was a start...and it felt good to do something!!

[More Getting to Know You - September 2]

I guess I'd just take it to the police and let them AND Ginny go nuts!

It would be tempting. I'd be curious. But I'd be afraid if I opened it, something would dye my hands...like they do with cash in a bank to identify a thief.

So...I'd just take it to the cops.

[jcawork, how are you?]

Jen....as always, you know I send you my best. I'm glad the back pain and flank pain are improved and hope the gastro stuff clears up real soon. Did you ask if the Topo might be causing it?

I'm just past cycle 10...and was going in the other gastric direction....but stepped up my fiber and fruit intake. That helped.

Holding good thoughts for you to find a way to...uh...er....put a cork in it, if ya know how I mean.

Good, healing thoughts and lots of love coming your way....

[Getting to Know You - September 02]

I was 14...still too young for a work permit. I worked at a furniture store where my aunt ended up having a 57 year "career".

I worked the elevator, the switchboard, did flyers up in the warehouse on the mimeograph machine (that tells ya how long ago this was, eh? ) and also worked a little in the office, which my aunt ran.

The only time I wasted was listening to my aunt tell me NOT to waste time because it reflected poorly back on her!

[Good to go...again!!!]

Well this news oughta take the "labor" out of your Labor Day and inject a good reason to celebrate, eh?

Great report~!! Now go forth and have yourself a good time celebrating this news!!

[Fun Post - Wow my gas guzzler is emptying my pockets.]

My car takes premium....so hubby only drives it to the dump (my car has the dump sticker on it...it's a wagon).

But he filled his tank today and it was about $44.00.

The only good thing is that I can't drive right now ...so it's not like the both of are out there. But we have to drive 20 mins. one way, five days a week to the hospital...and he still says he goes thru a tank in about a week. Not too bad.

When I was driving...a tank lasted me three weeks I only really drove to the grocery, the golf club, Michael's Crafts and TJ Maxx!

[9/1 update on Cindi]

I just hope for that cute doc's sake, that his name isn't Ned...because we know our Cindi...and next thing you know she'll be telling us she was in a hospital bed with NED AND Ned!

So glad you're doing well, m' dear. We miss you...and look forward to drinks half price at the Pub when you return.

P.S. How's the green jello?

[ct scan report is NERD]

So sorry I missed seeing this, Don...but CONGRATULATIONS, YOU NERD!!

I hope you celebrated this news in grand style. We always like to hear such good news. Joanie suggests you jump up and down....but if ya ask me, I'll tell you to head straight to the pub and hoist a something along with the rest of us!

[Justa....you out there reading?]

Thanks, Lindsey. Guess I don't check the hall pass forum often enough.

Hope Bethie is doing okay. I worry about her.

************

I'm such a dork. Or maybe it's the brain radiation. I POSTED to Beth's request for a hall pass. It just seemed like it was longer ago than the 25th....and I was missing her input.

Ah well, if she is lurking at all...it can't hurt for her to know she's missed...can it?

[Sorry I can't answer often]

Jackie dear....YOU come first...so take care of you and do what you have to.

We know you'll be sending good thoughts our way just as we always do yours. Don't worry. We'll be here when you feel up to posting again...and will welcome you back with a multitude of open arms!!