APRIL 3, 2023 – (Cont.) Just inside the door I removed my shoes. After taking my jacket, Fred led me from the entryway, through the nicely appointed living room and into the dining room. Colorful Easter egg decorations hung from the broad arched entryway into the dining area. The large dining room table was so …
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: A TALE OF HOPE IN LIFE’S INTERCONNECTEDNESS (PART II IN A SERIES)
APRIL 2, 2023 – (Cont.) I’d always been curious how in the world or anywhere else you could drive a tank faster than one mile an hour without crashing into everything in sight—or rather not in sight, because absent high-tech cameras, how would you see more than 1% of your surroundings through the narrow viewing …
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: A TALE OF HOPE IN LIFE’S INTERCONNECTEDNESS (PART I IN A SERIES)
APRIL 1, 2023 – My grandpa Nilsson, a violinist, launched my three sisters on their own careers as violinists. He and they were in perfect synch: he was a serious teacher, and they were serious students. In my case, he practically stood on his head trying first to get me to practice, and when that …
SPRING IS ON
MARCH 24, 2023 – Today in these parts, the spring melt was final on, full force. The mercury soared well into the 40sF under a sky monopolized by the sun. As I skate-skied up and down the Bernese Oberland of “Little Switzerland”—my 109th day of the season—I reveled in ideal “spring skiing” conditions. These occur …
“GLASS HALF FULL”
MARCH 17, 2023 – As a “glass half full” individual, I greeted favorably this morning’s blinding sunshine off the heavy blanket of snow that still covers the landscape in these parts. I chose to ignore the temperature (a high of 17F for the day) and the brisk, northwest winds, gusting up to 30 mph. At …
ANXIOUS SPECIES
MARCH 9, 2023 – At the outset of last year’s personally notable medical expedition, I experienced unusual anxiety. Physically, I was feeling, well, not so well. The worst occurred when my side of the earth was turned away from our local star, and the worst of the worst was when I climbed into bed each …
MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS DAY: FUN PART, BEST PART
JANUARY 17, 2023 – Today I had my monthly follow-up appointment with Dr. Kolla, followed by an encounter with the “infusion center,” where nurse Patty administered two butt shots plus a rabies injection. In more professional lingo, the butt shots were doses of csxzysesisterkappalambdaiotazonifer and xylicriminelamndanumuomicronpiclomyaquavazine, otherwise known as mono-clonal antibodies packaged under the brand …
THE GLASS HALF FULL
JANUARY 15, 2023 – Today the weather gods smiled, and gave a taste of spring-skiing. As I skated down the ski track, up and down dale, I noticed a number of weekenders on the course—friends on a lark; parents with young kids; older folks, gliding along slowly but surely. Citizen racers were few. Doubtless they …
OLD YEAR OUT, NEW YEAR IN
JANUARY 1, 2023 – Happy New Year cheers to all my readers! May 2023 bring you good health and lots of happiness. And may it bring a measure of peace and prosperity to the world. Yesterday, I celebrated the end of an eventful year by skiing for an hour on the American Birkebeiner Trail, the …
INSIDE THE BUBBLE LOOKING OUT (PART II)
DECEMBER 30, 2022 – (Cont.) Just as the train pulled to a stop at the closest station, my tires gripped, shooting my “bubble car” past the tracks and fishtailing across the street in front of oncoming traffic. Ahead lay the clinic with a “Covid Vaccinations Here” sign sticking out of a snowbank near the entrance. …
LILI IN WONDERLAND (PART II)
DECEMBER 28, 2022 – (Cont.) I think of people as candles, each bearing a flame. Most people illuminate their immediate surroundings, then fade and disappear; some people light up the world before their flames flicker, then die. A few burn most powerfully after the wax and wick are long gone. Mozart is an example of …
A NEW YORK ATTITUDE ABOUT CANCER
DECEMBER 19, 2022 – Today I met with my oncologist, Dr. Kolla, the saint who’d called me on December 29 last year—five days before my first appointment with him. His outreach had impressed me. When we met in person, I was even more impressed—and assured. At today’s appointment, Dr. Kolla started off by telling us …
LIVIN’ THE BIG DREAM
DECEMBER 18, 2022 – When you’re young, you dream big dreams. When you’re old, you light your pipe, lean back in the recliner and recall the big dreams that might’ve been but for circumstances . . . beyond . . . ahem . . . your control. In my case, the big dream derailed because …
BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS
DECEMBER 16, 2022 – Today, shortly after an hour-long ski workout in ideal conditions, I received a call from the coordinating nurse of a study in which I’d agreed to participate. The study is designed to test the efficacy of a combination of two medications in post-stem cell transplant, multiple myeloma patients. One of the …
BIG NEWS!
DECEMBER 12, 2022 – Nuclear fusion. Sorry to burst your bubble. With a title like “Big News!” doubtless you were half-expecting . . . big news. If it’s not exactly how we or the media would define “big news,” tomorrow’s official announcement about a breakthrough in harnessing energy produced by nuclear fusion is a critical …
DAY 85: “NO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS, JUST INTELLIGENT CHOICES”
NOVEMBER 16, 2022 – Today, after many weeks of embracing the delights of life—yes, LIFE in all its beauty and brilliance—following my autologous stem cell transplant in August, I had to spend two hours on the phone with a coordinator of a clinical study. The call reminded me that though I’m out of “cancer jail,” …
DAY 71: THE SOUL REVEALED UNTO ITSELF
NOVEMBER 2, 2022 – Today while bud-capping white pine trees in the “tree garden,” I spotted a four-year old seedling nestled up against an old, pin oak tree. The red leaves of a raspberry plant, backlit by Apollo’s chariot, dangled over the pine. A nice picture, I thought. Just as I reached for my iPhone, …
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 – Yesterday’s crankiness was overcome by my friends. To these accidental therapists I am especially grateful. As noted in yesterday’s post, I’d taken a break from the Ken Burns documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust. The “pause” button, however, didn’t extinguish my angst. I experienced continuing dread by the very fact that …
POWER DOWN, POWER UP
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 – Soon after I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last January, I started regular online sessions with an excellent therapist. In today’s session I described recent anxieties: e.g. What if Wednesday brings such severe conditions that piloting the boat to the landing two miles away turns unduly treacherous? What if the new …
DAY 26.2: THE ALL-IMPORTANT 385 YARDS
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 – (Cont.) At this late hour, I feel a bit like one of the running marathon finishers holding onto my silver space blanket with one hand and a cup of water in the other, as I stagger toward the heap of plastic bags with my race number on the outside and a …
DAY 26: CLEARING THE TREETOPS
SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 – (Cont.) Today marks Day 26 of my bone marrow transplant “marathon,” but as Yogi Berra famously said, “The game ain’t over ’til it’s over,” and to remind my readers, a marathon is 26.2 miles long. Accordingly, the finish line is an all-critical 385 yards—some 300 strides—beyond the 26-mile marker. As I …
MILE 25: ROUNDING THE CURVE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 – (Cont.) Today marks the 25th mile of my bone marrow transplant marathon. As a professor said at the outset of my second year of law school, “Now you’ll finish whether you like it or not.” His point to us students was that we now had such a vested interest in our …
DAY 23: THE MATTERHORN AND MILE 23
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 – Blogger’s note: Photo credit to my cousin, Russ Gordon, who, coincidentally, sent me the image early this morning–from Zermatt, Switzerland. (Cont.) Today I hiked a mile to my scale model of Switzerland—Como Golf Course in St. Paul—and from the summit of “St. Moritz,” admired the distinctive profile of the “Matterhorn.” It was …
DAY 22: A PATCH OF SUNSHINE
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 – (Cont.) This morning I entered a room of our house and discovered a patch of sunshine on the old, oak floor. This unexpected burst of light lifted my spirits and renewed my energy. In the reigning silence I heard my father’s voice. “The sun is the source of all life on …
DAY 21: MALAISE CUT SHORT
SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 – (Cont.) The dream last night must’ve been triggered by yesterday’s appointment with Dr. O’Leary, “BMT doc of the month.” I’d met the good doctor on the day of my “chemo-blast.” Back then, Dr. O’Leary, a bit of a killjoy though a life-long downhill skier, had told me I’d have to give …