Tuesday, September 12, 2017

A Rude Intrusion :: Day 64

This is my blog for day 64 of cancer treatment and recovery, Tuesday, 12 Sep 2017.

I have a follow-up with the oncologist today.

Got up late, so it seems that today is really short! We went to the doctor, and all my blood work is good. No real issues, just that I need to try to take more food by mouth. Hot dogs are on the list! They are smooth and will not rough up my throat.

By the way, I had the better part of three pancakes for breakfast this morning, with butter and syrup. Together with a glass of milk, I think I far exceeded the number of calories in a single serving of goop. Of course, I had a bag of goop for lunch when I returned for the doctor, but that's another story.

I bet white bratwurst are as smooth as hot dogs. They could be on the list, too.

Got a part to fix the vacuum today. Went to Mid America Vacuum in Crystal Lake; the owner was very helpful, and they had the part in store. I had ordered one from Amazon, but it didn't fit properly, so it's going back.

Posted this on Facebook today, for my dad. Kinda choked me up. But I wonder if it couldn't be true, just so my dad could experience the battles he only knew (so well) in print, on film, by visiting the battlefields directly and by remembering what he heard from the Civil War veterans who were still alive when he was a (very) little boy (dad was born in 1921).



For my dad, who loved talking about the Civil War . . .

"In time, even death itself might be abolished.

“Sergeant Berry Benson, the South Carolina veteran from McGowan's brigade, Wilcox's division, A.P. Hill's corps, Army of Northern Virginia - he'd enlisted three months before Sumter, aged 18, and served through Appomattox - saw it so when he got around to composing the reminiscences he hoped would, ‘go down amongst my descendants for a long time’.

“Reliving the war in words, he began to wish he could relive it in fact. And he came to believe that he and his fellow soldiers, grey and blue, might one day be able to do just that, if not here on Earth, then afterwards in Valhalla.

“‘Who knows?’, he asked, as his narrative drew toward its close, ‘but it may be given to us, after this life, to meet again in the old quarters, to play chess and drafts, to get up soon to answer the morning roll call, to fall in at the tap of the drum for drill and dress parade, and again to hastily don our war gear while the monotonous patter of the long roll summons [us] to battle’.

“’Who knows again but the old flags, ragged and torn, snapping in the wind, may face each other, and flutter, pursuing and pursued, while the cries of victory fill a summer day. And after the battle, then the slain and wounded will arise and all meet together under the two flags, all sound and well, and there will be talking and laughter, and cheers, and all will say, "Did it not seem real? Was it not as in the old days?"'”

 - Shelby Foote, speaking at the end of the last episode of Ken Burn’s The Civil War



Had to ask Nancy for a song from YouTube tonight, looking for something "fresh". So, here is Evergreen, by Barbra Streisand - Link - which was sung at our wedding.

Found another one, I think you'll know it too: Redwing, Tiny Little, on the Ed Sullivan Show - Link. I love how the show is sponsored by the '59 Dodge!

For convenience sake, here a running list of all of the links I've posted to YouTube in the past many days:

According to Plan, Carolyn Arends - Link
And I Love Her, The Beatles - Link
Apollo 11 launch - Link
Ashokan Farewell, Jay Ungar - Link
Back In You Own Back Yard, Al Jolson - Link
The Battle Hymn Of The Republic, The United States Army Field Bank - Link
Because We've Ended As Lovers, Larry Carlton & Steve Lukather - Link
Blessings, Laura Story - Link
The Blue Skirt Waltz, Frankie Yankovic - Link
Brandy, Looking Glass - Link
Brotherhood of Man, Matthew Broderick and Lillias White - Link
By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Glen Campbell - Link
Chicago Bears fight song - Link
Chicago Blackhawks song - Link
Cold, Cold Heart,The Quebe Sisters - Link
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd - Link
Cross Road Blues, Robert Johnson Link
Crossroads, Eric Clapton and Cream Link
Cry Me A River, Joe Cocker - Link
Cry Me A River, Diana Krall - Link
Dancing in the Moonlight, King Harvest - Link
Dixie - Link
A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request - Link, Steve Goodman
Eat It, Weird Al Yankovic - Link
Eclipse, Pink Floyd - Link
Evergreen, by Barbra Streisand - Link
Galveston, Glen Campbell - Link
Gentle On My Mind, Glen Campbell - Link
Get Back, The Beatles - Link
Glen Campbell-hosted country music special - Link
Go, Cubs, Go, Steve Goodman - Link
Going For The One, Yes - Link
Groucho Movie Clips - Link
Heart Of The Heartland, Peter Ostroushko - Link
I'm Alright, Kenny Loggins - Link
I Love A Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbit - Link
I Love Being Here With You, Diana Krall - Link
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman - Link
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman, from the movie Here Comes the Groom  - Link
In Good Hands, Carolyn Arends - Link.
Invercargill, United States Air Force Concert Band - Link
Jailhouse Rock, The Blues Brothers - Link
Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression, Part 1, An International Collaboration - Link
Lay Down Sally, Vince Gill and a cast of All Stars - Link
Lazy River, Dave McKenna - Link
Limbo Jazz, Coleman Hawkins and Duke Ellington - Link
Living in the Past, Jethro Tull - Link
Lookin' At The World Through A Windshield, Bill Kirchen - Link
Montana/We Are Not Alone, Univ. of Montana Percussion Ensemble - Link
My Baby Loves Lovin', White Plains - Link
My Funny Valentine, Kristin Chenoweth - Link
My Funny Valentine, Miles Davis - Link
My New Philosophy, Kristin Chenoweth and Stanley Wayne Mathis - Link
On The Street Where You Live, Dean Martin - Link
One Is The Loneliest Number, Three Dog Night - Link
One More Last Chance, Vince Gill - Link
The Pennsylvania Polka, Frankie Yankovic - Link
Popular, Kristin Chenoweth - Link
Powdermilk Biscuit Break, Garrison Keillor, et al - Link
Questions 67 and 68, Chicago - Link
Rain, Uriah Heep - Link
Reaching, Carolyn Arends - Link
Redwing, Tiny Little, on the Ed Sullivan Show - Link
Roly Poly, Don Kelley with Johnny Hiland - Link
Route 66, Asleep at The Wheel - Link
She Used To Be Mine, Sara Bareilles - Link
Shim, Sham, Shimmy (dance) to Tain't What You Do, Jimmy Lunceford - Link
Sisters, Bette Midler and Linda Ronstadt - Link
Sisters, from White Christmas - Link
Sixteen Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford - Link
Slang of Ages, Steely Day - Link
Slow Poke, Pee Wee King - Link
St Louis Blues, Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi - Link
Standing at the Crossroads, Elmore James - Link
Stars and Stripes Forever, United States Marine Band - Link
Subdivisions, Rush - Link
Sweet Georgia Brown, Wynton Marsalis/Mark O'Connor - Link
Sweet Lorraine, Uriah Heep - Link
Take Me Out To The Ballgame, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Link
That's Jazz, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong & The All Stars - Link
Time, Pink Floyd - Link
Time to Blow, From That Thing You Do - Link
The Too Fat Polka, Frankie Yankovic - Link
Truck Drivin' Man, Buck Owens - Link
Truck Drivin' Man, the Don Kelley Band - Link
Truck Drivin' Man, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Link
US National Anthem, US Marine Band - Link
Village of the Sun and Echidna's Arf (Of You), Frank Zappa - Link
War, Edwin Starr - Link
Yankee Doodle, The Marine Band - Link
Your Love Is My Saving GraceKristin Chenoweth Link
Zappa Medly, George Duke - Link

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