Spring is putting on airs, choosing to arrive fashionably late. Each year our community celebrates its agricultural roots with Blossom Weekend. Normally, pear and apple trees, festooned with an array of white and pink blossoms, attract thousands of visitors. They arrive like bees, pollinating local merchants with disposable income. This year, nary a blossom presented … More Passover
Soon after the New Year I resumed my six-mile walks. Wet weather interrupted some outings; others surprised me with unexpected mid-winter sunshine. I work fulltime but my job is not physically demanding. Accordingly, these walks provide the best barometer of my health. This is especially so now that I have restarted drug treatment for cancer. … More Renovation
In January, I met with Dr. M. Once again, my cancer showed signs of awakening. I feel good. I am not overtly symptomatic. Nevertheless, the myeloma stretched and yawned. After a nearly 2 1/2-year nap, my drug-free remission was about to end. Since last October, we’ve discussed a course of action. I digested statistics from clinical trial … More Choices
This winter, my wife and I, along with our two sons and daughter-in-law went to see the re-make of the classic western, True Grit. I liked this version of the movie more than the original. I think the Coen brothers better captured the coarseness of an era when one’s self-respect found moral value in vengeance. … More True Grit
Recently, the cat who keeps me company at the Post Office, Curly, disappeared. She adopted our office as her home seven years ago. She spends her day sleeping in a chair atop a red, white, and blue blanket knitted for her by one of our customers. At night and when the office is closed, we … More The Cat Came Back
Trees “Keep a green tree in your heart and a singing bird will come.” Chinese Proverb In November, the deciduous trees on our property cover the lawn with a radiant multi-colored blanket of leaves. Each fall, I spend several hours raking them into piles. Then, I haul them to my flowerbeds where they act as … More Trees
I could be handy, mending a fuse When your lights are gone. You can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday mornings go for a ride. Doing the garden, digging the weeds, Who could ask for more? Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four? The Beatles-1967 As a … More When I’m Sixty-Four
Everyday, I think about having cancer and everyday I forget that I have cancer. Reminders of my illness abound. It does not take much to make me hesitate and ponder the calculus of my future. For example, because we live in a remote area, I often shop on the web. Just last week, I procrastinated … More Everyday
My wife and I spent last week hiking in Washington State. First, we visited Mt. Saint Helens National Monument. We hiked at Independence Pass and climbed Windy Ridge. Our trail followed an exposed slope several miles north of the crater. The devastation caused by the volcano’s eruption 30 years ago dominates the environment. Pumice lay like … More Climbing Mountains
My iris blooms arrived in May and departed in June. Most of the lavender flowers shriveled unattractively on their stalks and I cut them off. Yesterday, I dug a colony of these bulbs from my perennial beds. I shook off the dirt, storing them in a paper bag. I’ve four more clumps to remove, energy willing. … More It’s Complicated
Good Blood, Bad Blood 