We were late before we started. The pecking of my wife’s hiking poles on gravel tick-tocked away the time in Silver Falls State Park. We’d chosen to rent a cabin there for a mid-summer’s getaway. Our creaky bodies appreciate day hikes as opposed to backpacking, an activity for which our future is behind us. So, … More Silver Falls
On July 27th, I began a new treatment regimen for my cancer, multiple myeloma. You can read all about it in The Drill. I am compelled to comment on a series of books I was prompted to read by my oldest son. He lives in Oakland, CA and works as an attorney for the EPA … More A Potpourri of Things
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu I have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of plasma cells. I’ve managed things well but the jinx of my chirpy posts about good cancer fortune had heard enough. Recently, the myeloma aimed its rheumy stinkeye my way … then blinked. My … More Riverwalk
I have a cancer, multiple myeloma, that effects the plasma cells in my blood. This December marks seven years since diagnosis. Somehow, a single plasma cell, which is a type of white blood cell, mutates and starts to multiply. The bone marrow acts as the blood cell factory and warehouse. When it gets crowded, the balance … More Seven Years
My youngest son makes his living as a builder. Often, trees must be felled to clear the construction site where he works. In the spring and summer, he hauls this wood back home to dry. Fall is the time for splitting and stacking and, recently, I joined him to help. A small mountain of wood awaits … More Wood Splitting
I’ve been taking dexamethasone for my blood cancer, multiple myeloma, since 2007. The synergistic effect of this steroid with myeloma therapies is undisputed. They work, they are inexpensive, and can be taken orally. My cancer continues to wobble without direction, seemingly unable to focus its biology. I attribute much of the myeloma’s poor power of concentration to … More Dancing with Savvy
I arrive at 8 am. Sam works admitting: name, birthdate, reason for being here. The data links me to my doctor’s orders. I receive a barcoded arm band. The infusatorium opens at 8:30. I wait, reading Web/MD magazine. I wonder if I could write for them. “No,” I decide, “I’m irrelevant. I’m no Brokaw or … More The Infusatorium
In early October, morning frosts gave way to blue skies and warm days. Autumn breezes moved among the limbs of maple, oak, and birch trees and their leaves dried and curled and changed color but held their grip on the boughs and refused to fall. Aided by this good weather, the virus I’d picked up … More Meditation for a Friend
My wife and I just returned from 10 days in New England. We entered Acadia National Park, in Maine, the afternoon prior to the government shutdown. There, we hiked to the summit of Cadillac Mountain and walked along the shores of Sand Beach and Jordan Pond. On the second day we followed the Great Meadow … More Leaf Litter, the ER, and Wobbling
The summer has been busy with family visits to Hood River. First, my wife’s youngest sister, Linda, arrived. She and her husband have government jobs overseas. They hope to eventually retire here, close to us. Their latest posting, however, is in Pakistan and a farewell peek at our new home seemed appropriate before departing. Then, … More A Busy Summer
Good Blood, Bad Blood 