Friday, September 15, 2017

My "Off" Week

This Monday was the last day of my third week in cycle 3 of the Clinical Trial. I will not have to take any pills till next Tuesday. While I have this time without Stivarga in my system I hope to be able to enjoy some different foods and maybe even a Cigar and a Whiskey.

It takes a few days for me to bounce back and each time I bounce back it's a little slower than the time  before. I held off on taking Marinol today  because it makes me tired and I am tired of being tired. There were a couple of errands that only I could do that needed to be done(just one really, getting propane for the grill) and I gassed up the car as well while I was out. That was a major event for me.

We had some sad news this week. My wife's uncle Clint passed away earlier this week. They have a big family and it will take some time to get the whole family together. His service will be on Saturday the 23rd. Vicki has just one surviving Uncle now who lives in South Dakota.

As I said in last weeks post about my new normal, I have some writing from 10 years ago that I am adding to my posts.

Here's this weeks' contribution,   


Life & Death

Love is such a powerful 
force for good 
or bad
I blush to think of what I’ve had
and wasted, trashed and thrown away
thinking there’s always another day

Friendship is so
wonderful and
rare
Simple pleasures you can share
when someone fits into your life
is there in pain and bitter strife

Breath in the
Delights of
existence Grand
Rejoice in those who take a stand
to live as fully as they will
take the cup and drink their fill

For pain and suffering 
will surely 
come
It’s up to you to add the sum
of life’s sweet blessings into the mix
Knowing that fate will play its tricks

And stand and fight for all you can
Make the best of your maker’s plan
Live with Passion to your last breath
Your story’s told between life and death

There it is, 
Hang in there,

RT





Wednesday, September 6, 2017

The New Normal

I am well into the third month of the Stivarga Clinical Trial at Mayo. My strength and stamina are slowly getting better on most days. If I am to continue to take this drug for the foreseeable future it will take some adjustment on my part.

I must be willing to get up off my ass regardless of side effects and do something, anything really, other than laying around in my easy chair and wishing I felt better.

While I may not be up to great physical exertion quite yet, I am going to attempt some intellectual muscle building at least.

I have held off commenting on our current political status and hope to continue in that mode. Instead, I dug up some writing I did in another time and place. At one point my wife and I moved to a small town in North Carolina and bought a fixer upper in a semi-countrified community just north of the town on a lake.

During the almost 2 years we spent there working on the house I had a few months of inspiration and found myself awake at 2 in the morning writing poems. I am going to add one of those to each of my blogs till I run out of them.

Here's this weeks contribution.


ANYBODY CAN

Anybody can write anything these days
And post it on the Internet
Not really dependent on older ways
Of finding audiences with interests met

I know this factually to be true
of course the deed I've surely done
not willing or able to wait on you
just writing like I'm the only one

who has got the magic words
to tell the world it's troubled state
and not giving the reason why 
it's coming from this old reprobate

Fortunately or unfortunately for my reader this is but one of 50 or so I penned during my period of inspiration a decade ago. Be warned, more will come. This is my new normal.

Till next time,
Hang in there,

RT