Books I’m Reading

 Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this.

Books I’m Reading

 Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this. 

Books I’m Reading

Am reading this.

Just finished reading this.

Now It’s Official!

I’ve been going to a skin doctor for about fifteen years having them look for cancers. As a blonde-haired, white guy, you would think there would have been a lot. Lots of pre-cancers, yes; but until now, no official skin cancer. 

Well, now it’s official: that thing on my leg is skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma, to be precise. It showed up about a year ago; but I didn’t have it seen to because of the pandemic. Finally decided to go have it checked out. After a biopsy confirmed it was cancer, I had it removed in a pretty simple and straightforward procedure. 

Basal carcinomas are pretty basic. They sit and grow in the upper layers of skin. They don’t burrow or spread like other skin cancers can – like melanoma. But, if not tended to, they can cause all kinds of problems, so I’m really glad that this one is history.

Books I’m Reading

 Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this.

Dial “D” for Dialysis

This was me this morning: getting my first official round of dialysis at my new official facility. I’ve known this was coming for just shy of six years – when a side effect of my bone-marrow cancer began damaging my kidneys. 

I’ve had a long time to prepare; but nothing prepared me for the consequences of this first treatment. (I had six treatments while recently in the hospital for eleven days.) Not only did this treatment throw me for a loop, it also gave me the worst “brain fog” I’ve ever experienced, leading to me collapsing on the living room floor. (Luckily, my husband Matt was in attendance and helped me.) 

As I write this, it’s been 6.5 hours since the end of my treatment. The brain fog has mostly lifted, but my body feels like it's being remotely operated by one of those guys working a pair of those robot arms. So bizarre. 

Clearly, changes will need to be made to my treatment. And they can’t come soon enough.

Books I’m Reading

 Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this. 

Camping All Summer Long

Today is the start of summer camp in many places across the USA: a tentative return to normalcy after such public assemblies were banned last year. This got me thinking of my summers in Phoenix, in the 1960s and 1970s. I never went to a sleep-away camp, but I did go to a day camp. 

Every weekday morning, I would walk a short distance to a public bus stop near my house. A yellow school bus would come by and pick me up. We drove for a while then stopped at a building. All I remember about it was that it was surrounded by a lot of trees. Once there, we would do various activities, including singing, art class and swimming, I’m sure we did lots of other things too; but that’s all I remember. 

At the end of the day, the bus would take me back to the same stop and I would walk home. Every Friday (or every other Friday) rather than being taken home, we would drive into far west metro Phoenix to the Estrella Mountain Park. There, we would camp for the night in tents, cook food over a fire and sleep in the quiet of the desert. The next morning, my parents would drive out there to pick me up. I remember enjoying my time at this day camp with overnight camping. I just wish I had better memories of it. 

[Photograph is of a small rock paperweight I painted on one of the art days.]

Books I’m Reading

Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this. 

Books I’m Reading

Am reading this. 

Just finished reading this (again).