Wendy's probably have the fastest drive through window in America, according to Columbus Business First.
If you are a Cancer patient, looking for a 1000 fast calories, try going to Wendy's and go through the drive through. For only $5, you can get a large Frosty-cino and a spicy chicken wrap. Plus they give you back change, that you can later give to a homeless person who will shake your hand and say: "God Bless you."
This is a hot July here in Portland. I try to get my frosty-chino fix in at least once a day.
*****
I saw my first Carl Jr.'s while visiting in California. For about $10 you can go to a Carl's Jr.here in Portland and buy close to 3000 calories! They have a variety of delicious offerings, including the Jalapeno Burger and the Guaconole Burger, among others. Yesterday I went to the Carl Jr.'s on S.E. 82d near Best Buy with Dan just to get a treat, and to enjoy their very fine banana chocolate chip malts. I got one in a large Combo meal of a very good Jalapeno Burger, along with a huge order of fries and a chicken sandwich wich cost me an extra Dollar.
*****
Fast food may not be the healthiest thing for you to eat, but sometimes you just have to when you are in pinch. Wendy's and Carl's offer up big heapings of cheap calories, and as Cancer patients, we should be aware of our caloric needs, which far exceed the 2000 or so caloric diet of a normal person.
*****
For all of $4 you can get one of the Best Hotdogs in Porland at Zach's Shack near the Mr. Tabor Theater on Hawthorne Boulevard. They offer the tradtional New York style hot dogs, as well as Chicago style hot dogs.They feature high quality wieners for all of their dogs, and they have a wide variety of "unusual" hot dogs as well. Try the Sgt. Pepper's. It comes with pepperoncinis and jalapenos.. One that I tried was the Dylan. This amount to a cross between a hot dog and what you might find on a bagel. It came with cream cheese, onion and sliced tomato. It was very good. Zach's opens around 3pm, and they stay open late. They have a mean Jukebox with intersting tunes on it, sometimes featuring local talent liike Sharon Jones. They have a table tennis set up out back, and you can go to the bar for paddles and balls. Now how much fun is that!
****
For some of the best French pastries you can get in Portland these days, try La Petite Provence. They have locations in Lake Oswego, N.E. and S..E. Portland. I live near the one at 48th and S.E. Division Street. For about $10 you can go there, order the French Onion Soup, a croissant, and get a cup of coffee. I take friends there for lunch somethimes, and they are very busy with the lunch crowd. Sometimes you have to wait for a table to open up .But it's worth it. The mouthwatering pastries always snag my attention on the way out. I will get a couple of brioches, or maybe some filled croissants, along with some good French bread to take home with me. I highly recommend going to a Le Petite Provence near you.
Mr.Charming
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Portland's Homeless
Homeless people in America are a National Tragedy. Today entire families are living in cars, or in homeless shelters all over this great Land of ours. We have our share of them in Portland, Oregon too, which is where I live.
*****'
There are homeless people living in parks near where I live in South East Portland. These are unfortunate souls, and in the mornings they go through our recycling looking for cans. Years ago when I was broke, I used to ride around on my bicycle, and would hit all the city parks nearby, going through garbage looking for cans and bottles that I could turn into cash.
*****
These days I always give my cans to the homeless people who could really use an extra dollar or two from recycling these items. I do what I can to help.
*****
For at least tthe past year or more, you have seen the homeless standing with signs out begging for something at busy intersections where people are forced to look at them while waiting for the light to change. The homeless will stand there in the pouring rain with their signs, hoping for at least a little something.
****
If one of these homeless people is seen smoking a cigarette, I give them nothing. Cigarettes are killing me with Lung Cancer, and though I have been a Cancer Survivor for the past two years now, I cannot in good conscience help support a homeless person who smokes. The price of a pack of smokes is equal to the cost of five cans of Pork and Beans. You can either make a choice to eat or smoke. Personally, I would rather eat.
*****
If they are not smoking, I always give them something. After all, homelessness is a National Tragedy. Most of the other drivers trapped by stop lights ignore the homeless completely, and refuse to make eye contact. I will reach out my hand and give the homeless person a dollar, or whatever I had. Yesterday I gave away forty two cents.
*****
These people are all suffering, I give them what I can. When they take the money, they will often shake my hand, and they will say: "God Bless you".It is a small thing I can do to help make Portland a better place to live. Even for the homeless.
Mr. Charming
*****'
There are homeless people living in parks near where I live in South East Portland. These are unfortunate souls, and in the mornings they go through our recycling looking for cans. Years ago when I was broke, I used to ride around on my bicycle, and would hit all the city parks nearby, going through garbage looking for cans and bottles that I could turn into cash.
*****
These days I always give my cans to the homeless people who could really use an extra dollar or two from recycling these items. I do what I can to help.
*****
For at least tthe past year or more, you have seen the homeless standing with signs out begging for something at busy intersections where people are forced to look at them while waiting for the light to change. The homeless will stand there in the pouring rain with their signs, hoping for at least a little something.
****
If one of these homeless people is seen smoking a cigarette, I give them nothing. Cigarettes are killing me with Lung Cancer, and though I have been a Cancer Survivor for the past two years now, I cannot in good conscience help support a homeless person who smokes. The price of a pack of smokes is equal to the cost of five cans of Pork and Beans. You can either make a choice to eat or smoke. Personally, I would rather eat.
*****
If they are not smoking, I always give them something. After all, homelessness is a National Tragedy. Most of the other drivers trapped by stop lights ignore the homeless completely, and refuse to make eye contact. I will reach out my hand and give the homeless person a dollar, or whatever I had. Yesterday I gave away forty two cents.
*****
These people are all suffering, I give them what I can. When they take the money, they will often shake my hand, and they will say: "God Bless you".It is a small thing I can do to help make Portland a better place to live. Even for the homeless.
Mr. Charming
Volunteerism
There are two things I need to get done before I leave Oregon for good. One of these is to drive down to Eugene and meet a remarkable woman named Jane Katra, who practices spiritual healing. You can find out more about her by reading her books.
*****
The other thing I need to do is learn all about Reiki. Reiki is a Japanese method of healing. It has been around for a couple of hundred years. In Reiki, the practitioner lays the hands on the patient, allowing the Chi force (or life force) to pass through into the patient. The whole experience is very relaxing. Often times someone who is suffering will become so relaxed that they will fall asleep. I want to learn how to do Reiki, and I want to get very good at it. Then I will be able to volunteer my time to help other people who are suffering from the horrors of Cancer.
*****
Listen: Fundamentally I am, and will always be a Christian. Through the parables of The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan, Christ was telling us about the tremendous benefits of trying to help others, which is what we all should be doing. It is the only way that I can think of that will allow Mankind to evolve into a better creature than the Cave Man we all are today. We can become better than mere brutes, and probably should start moving into the direction of Becoming. But more about all of this later.
*****
This morning I had to drive out to Beaverton to St. Vincent's hospital for another one of these four hour sessions of Chemo. Driving out there I was in agony. My hands had cramped up so badly with muscle spasms that I could hardly grip the wheel. I was going to see my Delightful Oncologist this morning, and I could not wait to get there so she could help me with these cramps, which has wrecked me for the past week or so.
*****
I got there on time. I signed in, and they had me wait before they called me back to do some Lab Work. In Lab Work, they take a blood sample to see how all the chemical balances are working in the body. By paying attention to what I buy to eat, and choose to cook, my balances are, and have always been in, the Super Normal Range. I may have Cancer, but my body itself is still in remarkably good shape. I am actually healthy.
*****
Following the Lab Work, they always weigh me, and they take my blood pressure too. Today I was disappointed to learn that I had actually lost a pound since last week, in spite of my efforts to load up on calories and to gain a bit. But I have been getting plenty of exercise lately. Maybe the fat is getting turned in muscle. I feel pretty good. I know that I am getting stronger. These are the things I need to be doing if I am going to continue to be a Cancer Survivor.
*****
Sophir, my Delightful Oncologist's assistant, escorted me to a small room. I sat there meditating, focusing on my breathing. I was allowing myself to relax the body, and to slow down the heart rate, which had been elevated due to all the pain I was experiencing.
*****
Soon my Delightful Oncologist entered the room. I always look forward to our little visits. She is very easy on the eyes. She is an attractive woman, and an athlete. I am lucky to have her. She has treated me for Cancer now for two years. I owe her everything for trying to keep me alive.
*****
The first thing we addressed was this awful cramping problem. For her, the answer was simple. Drink Gatorade to restore the electrolytes, which I had been losing due to all the physical activity lately. This was an easy thing to do.
****
The second thing we discussed was to cut back on the medicines she had prescribed. One of these is Dexamethasone, which is a powerful steroid. We will be cutting that one back to once every other day, as it has a tendency to make people very hyper if they take it every day.
*****
The third thing we talked about was this blog which you are reading. I directed her to read "The Ground Rules" first, which explains what I am trying to do with all of this writing. And then to read "National Health Care", to see if I was painting an accurate picture. My Delightful Oncologist will become a valuable resource because of her extensive knowledge on these topics. She will be someone I can talk to in order to keep me on the right path with all of this. If she sees my body of work and likes it, she is in a position to promote what I have set out to do here to the very audience I hope to reach, which are fellow Cancer patients.
****
I fell asleep during Chemo, and the four hours passed fairly quickly. On the way home, I bought some Gatorade.
Mr. Charming
*****
The other thing I need to do is learn all about Reiki. Reiki is a Japanese method of healing. It has been around for a couple of hundred years. In Reiki, the practitioner lays the hands on the patient, allowing the Chi force (or life force) to pass through into the patient. The whole experience is very relaxing. Often times someone who is suffering will become so relaxed that they will fall asleep. I want to learn how to do Reiki, and I want to get very good at it. Then I will be able to volunteer my time to help other people who are suffering from the horrors of Cancer.
*****
Listen: Fundamentally I am, and will always be a Christian. Through the parables of The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan, Christ was telling us about the tremendous benefits of trying to help others, which is what we all should be doing. It is the only way that I can think of that will allow Mankind to evolve into a better creature than the Cave Man we all are today. We can become better than mere brutes, and probably should start moving into the direction of Becoming. But more about all of this later.
*****
This morning I had to drive out to Beaverton to St. Vincent's hospital for another one of these four hour sessions of Chemo. Driving out there I was in agony. My hands had cramped up so badly with muscle spasms that I could hardly grip the wheel. I was going to see my Delightful Oncologist this morning, and I could not wait to get there so she could help me with these cramps, which has wrecked me for the past week or so.
*****
I got there on time. I signed in, and they had me wait before they called me back to do some Lab Work. In Lab Work, they take a blood sample to see how all the chemical balances are working in the body. By paying attention to what I buy to eat, and choose to cook, my balances are, and have always been in, the Super Normal Range. I may have Cancer, but my body itself is still in remarkably good shape. I am actually healthy.
*****
Following the Lab Work, they always weigh me, and they take my blood pressure too. Today I was disappointed to learn that I had actually lost a pound since last week, in spite of my efforts to load up on calories and to gain a bit. But I have been getting plenty of exercise lately. Maybe the fat is getting turned in muscle. I feel pretty good. I know that I am getting stronger. These are the things I need to be doing if I am going to continue to be a Cancer Survivor.
*****
Sophir, my Delightful Oncologist's assistant, escorted me to a small room. I sat there meditating, focusing on my breathing. I was allowing myself to relax the body, and to slow down the heart rate, which had been elevated due to all the pain I was experiencing.
*****
Soon my Delightful Oncologist entered the room. I always look forward to our little visits. She is very easy on the eyes. She is an attractive woman, and an athlete. I am lucky to have her. She has treated me for Cancer now for two years. I owe her everything for trying to keep me alive.
*****
The first thing we addressed was this awful cramping problem. For her, the answer was simple. Drink Gatorade to restore the electrolytes, which I had been losing due to all the physical activity lately. This was an easy thing to do.
****
The second thing we discussed was to cut back on the medicines she had prescribed. One of these is Dexamethasone, which is a powerful steroid. We will be cutting that one back to once every other day, as it has a tendency to make people very hyper if they take it every day.
*****
The third thing we talked about was this blog which you are reading. I directed her to read "The Ground Rules" first, which explains what I am trying to do with all of this writing. And then to read "National Health Care", to see if I was painting an accurate picture. My Delightful Oncologist will become a valuable resource because of her extensive knowledge on these topics. She will be someone I can talk to in order to keep me on the right path with all of this. If she sees my body of work and likes it, she is in a position to promote what I have set out to do here to the very audience I hope to reach, which are fellow Cancer patients.
****
I fell asleep during Chemo, and the four hours passed fairly quickly. On the way home, I bought some Gatorade.
Mr. Charming
Jonathan
I do not have any kids (at least that I know about!). I am at the age where those possibilities have been foreclosed upon. I do not want to become another Pablo Picasso, who kept on making babies even at an advanced age. You should have your children when you are in your twenties and thirties, while you still have the energy to keep up with them. Then when you turn fifty you can admire the kind of work you accomplished by being a good parent. You will no longer see your children as children, but rather as the next generation of adults. If you did a good job, they will take over the reigns and make wise decisions as to how we marshall the diminishing resources of a cold planet in deep space.
*****
If you did not do so well as a parent, your kids will probably also turn out to be good adults, eventually. Live and learn.
*****
Two weeks ago a group of us climbed Beacon Rock, which is in the Washington side of the Gorge. My friend from work, Hank, took his two sons, Dom, who is fourteen, and Jonathan, who is six. Hank is a very good father to these two, very polite boys. I wanted to give Hank a present, which is to be able to take him to these wonderful places that are nearby. Soon Hank, who is in terrific shape, will be able to do this sort of thing with his sons, without me. That was my gift to Hank. I had wanted to create another dimension in the relationship he is having with his offspring. I had also wanted to take a peek underneath all this politeness.
*****
After climbing Beacon Rock (Hank and the boys whizzed up there, and came down while us old timers were still slowly making our way to the top), I offered to buy everyone Ice Cream at the East Wind Drive In , which is in Cascade Locks, Oregon. It was my way of saying thanks to everyone that had been patient with me, and who were willing to put up with all my nonsense.
*****
After the Ice Cream, we all went over to the Cascade Locks Visitor's Center, in order to use their bathroom and to wash our hands. The Locks are a very restful place. You could just stand there and quietly watch the water, and watch all the boats.
*****
Inside the visitor's center, they have a small gift shop with the usual trinkets. In the gift shop, Jonathan and I spied this huge table of polished stones. These were all rocks someone had gathered and polished. The sold them for a dollar a piece. They were just rocks, after all.
*****
Some of them were all blue, or red. Some were all black, or a cloudy kind of yellow.
*****
I showed Jonathan a bright green one. This one had a jagged yellow line running across it.
Me: "Do you know what this is?"
Jonathan: "No."
Me: "It is a picture of a miniature forest with lightning in the sky."
He got the idea right away!
Then he picked one up.
It was a light blue one with a white triangle on it.
Jonathan: "You know what this one is?"
Me: "No."
Jonathan: "It's a tiny picture of a mountain, and it's snowing!"
I told them that he was absolutely right.
*****
We continued to play this game for a while. We got to become friends pretty fast because of this.
When we were done with it, I told him something.
The rocks were like people.
Some are going to be boring, like all red and angry, or all blue and sad.
The more interesting ones are going to be the ones with a story to tell. Those are the good ones.
*****
I had made a new friend in this little boy. He followed me around for the rest of the day and listened to all of my dumb stories. He shared his M&M's with me. He had a million questions about everything. He is a smart little boy.
Mr. Charming
*****
If you did not do so well as a parent, your kids will probably also turn out to be good adults, eventually. Live and learn.
*****
Two weeks ago a group of us climbed Beacon Rock, which is in the Washington side of the Gorge. My friend from work, Hank, took his two sons, Dom, who is fourteen, and Jonathan, who is six. Hank is a very good father to these two, very polite boys. I wanted to give Hank a present, which is to be able to take him to these wonderful places that are nearby. Soon Hank, who is in terrific shape, will be able to do this sort of thing with his sons, without me. That was my gift to Hank. I had wanted to create another dimension in the relationship he is having with his offspring. I had also wanted to take a peek underneath all this politeness.
*****
After climbing Beacon Rock (Hank and the boys whizzed up there, and came down while us old timers were still slowly making our way to the top), I offered to buy everyone Ice Cream at the East Wind Drive In , which is in Cascade Locks, Oregon. It was my way of saying thanks to everyone that had been patient with me, and who were willing to put up with all my nonsense.
*****
After the Ice Cream, we all went over to the Cascade Locks Visitor's Center, in order to use their bathroom and to wash our hands. The Locks are a very restful place. You could just stand there and quietly watch the water, and watch all the boats.
*****
Inside the visitor's center, they have a small gift shop with the usual trinkets. In the gift shop, Jonathan and I spied this huge table of polished stones. These were all rocks someone had gathered and polished. The sold them for a dollar a piece. They were just rocks, after all.
*****
Some of them were all blue, or red. Some were all black, or a cloudy kind of yellow.
*****
I showed Jonathan a bright green one. This one had a jagged yellow line running across it.
Me: "Do you know what this is?"
Jonathan: "No."
Me: "It is a picture of a miniature forest with lightning in the sky."
He got the idea right away!
Then he picked one up.
It was a light blue one with a white triangle on it.
Jonathan: "You know what this one is?"
Me: "No."
Jonathan: "It's a tiny picture of a mountain, and it's snowing!"
I told them that he was absolutely right.
*****
We continued to play this game for a while. We got to become friends pretty fast because of this.
When we were done with it, I told him something.
The rocks were like people.
Some are going to be boring, like all red and angry, or all blue and sad.
The more interesting ones are going to be the ones with a story to tell. Those are the good ones.
*****
I had made a new friend in this little boy. He followed me around for the rest of the day and listened to all of my dumb stories. He shared his M&M's with me. He had a million questions about everything. He is a smart little boy.
Mr. Charming
The Ground Rules
This is where I set down some ground rules concerning this blog. Some of these stories have absolutely nothing to do with Cancer. But I have Cancer. I am like you, or someone you know, or someone you have lost. My story speaks to all of us. You will read these stories, and find out a little bit more about who I am. You will find out about growing up in Michigan, where there are many small towns and villages that are cold and hard, and where the people are poor. You will also find out something about this marvelous adopted city of mine, which is Portland, Oregon. I am telling you the story of my life.
*****
It is very important to me to use no last names in any of these stories. These are people who were kind enough to share very personal moments with me. They will all remain anonymous. I could just have easily made the whole thing up.
*****
I cannot, and will not betray confidences.
****
This is all about helping other people who have Cancer, like I do. It has nothing to do with money. You can alway get more money. What I am doing here is important work, which is trying to reach out to people with this horrible disease of Cancer. To offer up a little hope, and a philosophy about enjoying life while we still can.
*****
I refuse to post pictures and photos up here of any kind. You know that they say that a picture paints a thousand words. The hard part is to come up with a thousand words to paint the picture. This blog is, and will always be about writing. Plain and simple.
*****
During the course of the telling of my story about who I am, you might learn something new, which is always a good thing. I know just a little bit about Art, Architecture, Botany, Literature, Film History, and Music, and Motorcycles, and a whole lot about things that are just plain Arcane. These are all my strong suits, as well as trying to be entertaining and funny. You will hear stories about my friends' lives, and how my story has inspired them to become better people. I also intend to publish posts that will make you cry. Cancer is, after all, a very Emotional Affair. I have no intention of offending anyone with these stories, though I may occaisionally take a Jab at the French, and anyone else who might be within reach. It is not my attention to hurt anyone's feelings. People always take themselves so seriously! And they shouldn't.
*****
I will always be on the lookout to improve the appearance of this blog. I write in green, which iis supposed to be a psychologically neutral color. Someone complained that this was hard to read, so I changed the background to make it easier to read. After all, I want as many people as possible to come up and read my work. I should do something that makes that task easy to do.
The print is on the large side, but I am also writing for old people, and they have a hard time with small print. One lady in Michigan, whom I hope to see, prays for me. Her name is Genevieve. She sent me a gift, which is a large print King James Bible. It is small enough to keep with you in your pocket. This was the perfect gift to me, since among all my books, I did not have one of these. I will visit Genevieve while I am back there. Today I added buttons at the bottom of the page, which will make it easier for someone to email a good story to their friends. I am always looking for ways to improve.
*****
Genevieve worked with my Mom for years at a nursing home, where they took care of old people. My Mom was especially good at this, and would talk with them when no one came to visit, and made little gifts for them at home, and would give them these trinkets. It is now my turn to take care of old people, and I will do that if I can. If I can survive Cancer. What else do I have to do? Nothing.
*****
Today somebody pointed out that I should maintain a high level of fact checking, which is not my strong suit. He was right to point this out. Jody gave me the idea about the debate over National Health Care when she came across these statistics in Investor's Business Daily. I went back to verify this story. It was published on June 7 of this year. Of course they had a different agenda wth their stuff than I do here. But I think I managed to write a better story. At least one that is funnier than theirs. I invite you to be the judge on that one.
*****
That's about it for the ground rules. Today will be another long day of Chemo. I will have a chance to see My Delightful Oncologst, who happens to also be one of the smartest women I have ever met in my life. Earlier this year she told me: "We are going to have to buff you up". I have never been the kind of guy you would find at a gym. I have always had long hair and a beard, until Cancer came along. I have always looked like some kind of crazy terrorist. Any one who knows me will testify to that. It was my way of testing people. If they could accept who I was in spite of how I appeared, I deemed them most Worthy in my book, and we became friends. If not, then they had a problem judging a book by its cover. Naturally, these are the sort of people you want to avoid cluttering up you life with. They are stuck with their small ideas, and as it turns out, these ideas are not very interesting. "And so it goes". - Vonnegut.
*****
But I am doing what I can to follow My Delightful Oncologist's advice. I have been busy monitoring my diet. I have been spending a lot of time in the kithchen, and I do not smoke in the kitchen. I have been busy eating about 5000 calories a day to put on the weight. I was at 168 a week ago. Maybe I will tip the scales today at 170. My goal is to eventually hit 175, which is about normal for me. It is within my reach. I just have to keep motivated to do this. I do not cook with either sugar or salt. Sugar is bad for my delicate teeth. Too much salt can ruin your life too. I have to avoid both of these things. I cook up lots of pasta because it is cheap. I then add some sauteed onions and green peas and canned olives and Salmon for protein. I top this off with good old Mozarella cheese, which I get at Safeway. I use Garlic Powder for seasoning. I get these at the Dollar Store for a Dollar. I steam fresh vegetables every day, and have been enjoying lots of asparagus lately, which is a cancer fighter too. I do not mind spending an extra Dollar to buy organic either. My Fred Meyer at Hawthorne has a most complete selection of organic vegetables. I also live fairly close to a Trader Joe's, and they offer a lot of organic products. I am trying to be smarter about what I choose to eat and what I choose to cook.
*****
The last thing I need to mention here is that I have been getting plentyof physical exercise. This is important for all of us. We are turning into a nation of Diabetics. We eat the wrong foods, and as a Nation, we are all way over weight. If we were all just a little smarter, we could avoid the horrors of Diabetes, which is another killer. You may never see me inside of a gym (although last year I did visit an LA Fitness while visiting Crazy Al in Los Angeles, which proves that I might even to be willing to give that a shot). I have been very busy riding my bike, playing a little tennis, and going for walks and hikes with everybody I know. In my own way, I am trying to get stronger.
*****
Finally, I want to say that I have been the William Burroughs poster child for smoking. I have been a complete a complete junkie for something as stupid as cigarettes. My friend MJ has inspired me to try to give them up. I am now writing down each one that I have, to become conscious of how many I go through in one day. MJ managed to quit for twelve whole days. Her nerves were wrecked, and she broke down and had a smoke. The longest I have gone without one has been two days, when I was broke. My friend Mark used to smoke like a fiend in college. Even he gave them up. I started smoking when I was nineteen. It is about time that I give them up too. All cigarettes have done for me is to give me lung Cancer, and to make me smell bad. They take your breath away from you, and breathing is the fundamental cornerstone of Meditation. Meditation is good for the soul, and will create in you a better person than you are today. Cigarettes have just the opposite effect.
Mr. Charming
*****
It is very important to me to use no last names in any of these stories. These are people who were kind enough to share very personal moments with me. They will all remain anonymous. I could just have easily made the whole thing up.
*****
I cannot, and will not betray confidences.
****
This is all about helping other people who have Cancer, like I do. It has nothing to do with money. You can alway get more money. What I am doing here is important work, which is trying to reach out to people with this horrible disease of Cancer. To offer up a little hope, and a philosophy about enjoying life while we still can.
*****
I refuse to post pictures and photos up here of any kind. You know that they say that a picture paints a thousand words. The hard part is to come up with a thousand words to paint the picture. This blog is, and will always be about writing. Plain and simple.
*****
During the course of the telling of my story about who I am, you might learn something new, which is always a good thing. I know just a little bit about Art, Architecture, Botany, Literature, Film History, and Music, and Motorcycles, and a whole lot about things that are just plain Arcane. These are all my strong suits, as well as trying to be entertaining and funny. You will hear stories about my friends' lives, and how my story has inspired them to become better people. I also intend to publish posts that will make you cry. Cancer is, after all, a very Emotional Affair. I have no intention of offending anyone with these stories, though I may occaisionally take a Jab at the French, and anyone else who might be within reach. It is not my attention to hurt anyone's feelings. People always take themselves so seriously! And they shouldn't.
*****
I will always be on the lookout to improve the appearance of this blog. I write in green, which iis supposed to be a psychologically neutral color. Someone complained that this was hard to read, so I changed the background to make it easier to read. After all, I want as many people as possible to come up and read my work. I should do something that makes that task easy to do.
The print is on the large side, but I am also writing for old people, and they have a hard time with small print. One lady in Michigan, whom I hope to see, prays for me. Her name is Genevieve. She sent me a gift, which is a large print King James Bible. It is small enough to keep with you in your pocket. This was the perfect gift to me, since among all my books, I did not have one of these. I will visit Genevieve while I am back there. Today I added buttons at the bottom of the page, which will make it easier for someone to email a good story to their friends. I am always looking for ways to improve.
*****
Genevieve worked with my Mom for years at a nursing home, where they took care of old people. My Mom was especially good at this, and would talk with them when no one came to visit, and made little gifts for them at home, and would give them these trinkets. It is now my turn to take care of old people, and I will do that if I can. If I can survive Cancer. What else do I have to do? Nothing.
*****
Today somebody pointed out that I should maintain a high level of fact checking, which is not my strong suit. He was right to point this out. Jody gave me the idea about the debate over National Health Care when she came across these statistics in Investor's Business Daily. I went back to verify this story. It was published on June 7 of this year. Of course they had a different agenda wth their stuff than I do here. But I think I managed to write a better story. At least one that is funnier than theirs. I invite you to be the judge on that one.
*****
That's about it for the ground rules. Today will be another long day of Chemo. I will have a chance to see My Delightful Oncologst, who happens to also be one of the smartest women I have ever met in my life. Earlier this year she told me: "We are going to have to buff you up". I have never been the kind of guy you would find at a gym. I have always had long hair and a beard, until Cancer came along. I have always looked like some kind of crazy terrorist. Any one who knows me will testify to that. It was my way of testing people. If they could accept who I was in spite of how I appeared, I deemed them most Worthy in my book, and we became friends. If not, then they had a problem judging a book by its cover. Naturally, these are the sort of people you want to avoid cluttering up you life with. They are stuck with their small ideas, and as it turns out, these ideas are not very interesting. "And so it goes". - Vonnegut.
*****
But I am doing what I can to follow My Delightful Oncologist's advice. I have been busy monitoring my diet. I have been spending a lot of time in the kithchen, and I do not smoke in the kitchen. I have been busy eating about 5000 calories a day to put on the weight. I was at 168 a week ago. Maybe I will tip the scales today at 170. My goal is to eventually hit 175, which is about normal for me. It is within my reach. I just have to keep motivated to do this. I do not cook with either sugar or salt. Sugar is bad for my delicate teeth. Too much salt can ruin your life too. I have to avoid both of these things. I cook up lots of pasta because it is cheap. I then add some sauteed onions and green peas and canned olives and Salmon for protein. I top this off with good old Mozarella cheese, which I get at Safeway. I use Garlic Powder for seasoning. I get these at the Dollar Store for a Dollar. I steam fresh vegetables every day, and have been enjoying lots of asparagus lately, which is a cancer fighter too. I do not mind spending an extra Dollar to buy organic either. My Fred Meyer at Hawthorne has a most complete selection of organic vegetables. I also live fairly close to a Trader Joe's, and they offer a lot of organic products. I am trying to be smarter about what I choose to eat and what I choose to cook.
*****
The last thing I need to mention here is that I have been getting plentyof physical exercise. This is important for all of us. We are turning into a nation of Diabetics. We eat the wrong foods, and as a Nation, we are all way over weight. If we were all just a little smarter, we could avoid the horrors of Diabetes, which is another killer. You may never see me inside of a gym (although last year I did visit an LA Fitness while visiting Crazy Al in Los Angeles, which proves that I might even to be willing to give that a shot). I have been very busy riding my bike, playing a little tennis, and going for walks and hikes with everybody I know. In my own way, I am trying to get stronger.
*****
Finally, I want to say that I have been the William Burroughs poster child for smoking. I have been a complete a complete junkie for something as stupid as cigarettes. My friend MJ has inspired me to try to give them up. I am now writing down each one that I have, to become conscious of how many I go through in one day. MJ managed to quit for twelve whole days. Her nerves were wrecked, and she broke down and had a smoke. The longest I have gone without one has been two days, when I was broke. My friend Mark used to smoke like a fiend in college. Even he gave them up. I started smoking when I was nineteen. It is about time that I give them up too. All cigarettes have done for me is to give me lung Cancer, and to make me smell bad. They take your breath away from you, and breathing is the fundamental cornerstone of Meditation. Meditation is good for the soul, and will create in you a better person than you are today. Cigarettes have just the opposite effect.
Mr. Charming
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Dentistry and Cancer
Today I went in to see my Dentist, Dr. Tim. He is a wonderful man, and he is an excellent Dentist. This man helped me to save my teeth, which I thought was a hopeless cause just a few years ago.
*****
Cancer patients must pay attention to their teeth. A smoker, such as myself, causes a lot of damage to the gum line (shrinkage) and forecloses on the possibility of implants (infections). Smoking is a very dumb habit. We all know that; still we smoke cigarettes in this country and succeed in killing ourselves at an alarming rate.
*****
I have lung Cancer, one of the deadliest Cancers out there. Radiation therapy has ruined my ability to produce saliva, which is the body's natural defense against cavities. I have to use a very expensive prescription toothe paste to compensate for this. I have thrown away the old $5 toothebrush and have gone through two of the more expensive electronic ones. These do an excellent job in promoting healthy gums. I would recommend this to anyone out there fighting Cancer. I would also recommend this idea to anyone else. Save your teeth.
*****
I grew up in a poor household. My parents did what they could for me, and they did their best by me, mark my words. People around us had less than we did. I was fortunate in that respect. We were never on welfare, since my parents always worked for just over minimum wage in the area where I grew up. A lot of my friends with big families were on welfare. I remember being around all these kids, and I had a lot of fun with them. We would eat Government Cheese, and go pick apples at the orchards back in Michigan. I owe these kids everything.
*****
My teeth are a problem for me now, because I was too lazy too brush them as a child. My parents did spring for trips to the dentist, to repair all the damage I had caused by my own neglect. They found some cheap dentist in Petoskey to do all the work, and he used no novacaine, because that was an extra charge that no one could afford. He would drill into nerves and you would just have to endure the agony of it. Sometimes these sessions would run a couple of hours. Two hours of the smell of burnt teeth, and horrible torture to a young boy. This experience traumatized me for the rest of my life. It ruined me.
*****
Afterwords, the dentist would reward me for being such a brave little boy. He would always give me a sucker.
*****
I got older. My teeth were a shambles. I came to terms with what I had to do. I was tired of eating soft foods all the time. I had plenty of money, and a lot of fear. I picked Dr. Tim out of the phone book (sychronicity at work, again). We were on a mission to save my teeth.
*****
My Mother grew up in an entirely different age. She thought that spending all of this money was a complete waste of time. She told me to just get them all pulled, and to get dentures. I am glad now that I did not follow this advice.
*****
Because of their delicate condition, I am required to see Dr. Tim every three months. Since I have become retired, I have to carefully watch the budget. I cannot afford to do everything at once. My main focus is to fight Cancer, and that expensive endeavor has used up a lot of my resources. This time I went for nine months without seeing Dr. Tim, and took a big risk in doing that. We begin the tedious process of repairing the damage in August.
****
Dr. Tim and his staff have been very kind to me. Today Dr. Tim took time out of his day to read my previous blog comparing the health care systems of the United States versus Nationalized health care in England and in Canada. In that piece I was not very kind to the English.
*****
Dr. Tim is one of the few Englishmen that I know. He once worked for the Royal Postal Service before moving here to become a dentist. He read my little blog, and then he turned to me and he said that I had summed it up pretty well. I was absolutely thrilled to hear this from someone I so greatly respect and admire.
Mr. Charming
*****
Cancer patients must pay attention to their teeth. A smoker, such as myself, causes a lot of damage to the gum line (shrinkage) and forecloses on the possibility of implants (infections). Smoking is a very dumb habit. We all know that; still we smoke cigarettes in this country and succeed in killing ourselves at an alarming rate.
*****
I have lung Cancer, one of the deadliest Cancers out there. Radiation therapy has ruined my ability to produce saliva, which is the body's natural defense against cavities. I have to use a very expensive prescription toothe paste to compensate for this. I have thrown away the old $5 toothebrush and have gone through two of the more expensive electronic ones. These do an excellent job in promoting healthy gums. I would recommend this to anyone out there fighting Cancer. I would also recommend this idea to anyone else. Save your teeth.
*****
I grew up in a poor household. My parents did what they could for me, and they did their best by me, mark my words. People around us had less than we did. I was fortunate in that respect. We were never on welfare, since my parents always worked for just over minimum wage in the area where I grew up. A lot of my friends with big families were on welfare. I remember being around all these kids, and I had a lot of fun with them. We would eat Government Cheese, and go pick apples at the orchards back in Michigan. I owe these kids everything.
*****
My teeth are a problem for me now, because I was too lazy too brush them as a child. My parents did spring for trips to the dentist, to repair all the damage I had caused by my own neglect. They found some cheap dentist in Petoskey to do all the work, and he used no novacaine, because that was an extra charge that no one could afford. He would drill into nerves and you would just have to endure the agony of it. Sometimes these sessions would run a couple of hours. Two hours of the smell of burnt teeth, and horrible torture to a young boy. This experience traumatized me for the rest of my life. It ruined me.
*****
Afterwords, the dentist would reward me for being such a brave little boy. He would always give me a sucker.
*****
I got older. My teeth were a shambles. I came to terms with what I had to do. I was tired of eating soft foods all the time. I had plenty of money, and a lot of fear. I picked Dr. Tim out of the phone book (sychronicity at work, again). We were on a mission to save my teeth.
*****
My Mother grew up in an entirely different age. She thought that spending all of this money was a complete waste of time. She told me to just get them all pulled, and to get dentures. I am glad now that I did not follow this advice.
*****
Because of their delicate condition, I am required to see Dr. Tim every three months. Since I have become retired, I have to carefully watch the budget. I cannot afford to do everything at once. My main focus is to fight Cancer, and that expensive endeavor has used up a lot of my resources. This time I went for nine months without seeing Dr. Tim, and took a big risk in doing that. We begin the tedious process of repairing the damage in August.
****
Dr. Tim and his staff have been very kind to me. Today Dr. Tim took time out of his day to read my previous blog comparing the health care systems of the United States versus Nationalized health care in England and in Canada. In that piece I was not very kind to the English.
*****
Dr. Tim is one of the few Englishmen that I know. He once worked for the Royal Postal Service before moving here to become a dentist. He read my little blog, and then he turned to me and he said that I had summed it up pretty well. I was absolutely thrilled to hear this from someone I so greatly respect and admire.
Mr. Charming
Monday, July 19, 2010
National Health Care
There was an article recently in "Investor's Business Daily". It provided some interesting comparisons of our system of health care, versus that of Canada and the U.K., which have Nationalized systems. The article pointed out that two thirds of the men and women in the United States had survived Cancer five years after the diagnosis! So that's got to be pretty good!
*****
In the U.K, that figure dropped all the way down to 46%. Canada fared even worse, at 42%. We are seeing a lot more Cancer Survivors here with our patch work system. We can probably improve on it, and we just might do that. Meanwhile, remember to tip the hat to what we have here in the United States. We are saving lives, and that's a good thing.
*****
First of all, it is very unfair to be comparing the health care systems of three very dissimilar countries as the U.S., Canada, and England. While it is true that we share a common heritage and language, along with a fondness for Monty Python, we do have our differences.
****
The population of the United States is enormous compared to the other two countries. While a lot of our people live in the cities, like they do in Canada, there is still a big percentage of the public who are happy to just live in the Vastness.
*****
Canada's population is relatively tiny, with most Canadians living in the cities of Canada's Deep South. The rest of the country is an empty place.
*****
I really can't comment on Canada's health care system. I am sure that it works pretty good some of the time. Just like anything else.
*****
England has a much larger population than Canada does. Still, it only amounts to about a third of the people that we have here in the United States.
*****
England is an Island Nation. England is relatively tiny. They do have a lot of empty, too. These empty places are more commonly known as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. There is a reason for this. Over the years people discovered that it was going to be hard to feed their families with nothing but wind and rocks. A lot of them moved away, creating even more empty. The rest of them had to settle for becoming Englishmen. To be fair, my grandfather was English. He jumped a steamer when he was twelve, and fled for opportunities here in America. He was a smart guy.
*****
England has no more room for the English. They are dying to get rid of some. This tends to explain why so many more people in England are dying from Cancer versus here in the good old USA. England is full up. They have to thin the herd.
*****
The National Health Service in England makes it possible for everyone to go see a doctor, only not at convenient times, like when you are sick, for example. In England, everything gets doled out to everybody else by the National Health Service, like spam. Then they have to make decisions about what types of drugs and treatments they can afford to offer. They are being very fair about the whole thing.
*****
If there is a Cancer medicine approved for widespread use in the United States, the chances are pretty good that it will be approved for in England, eventually. But that does not automatically mean that the drug will be provided by the National Health Service. They are on a strict budget.
****
The drug Tarceva is one example of this. Tarceva has been shown to be very effective in extending the lives of a particular class of lung Cancer patients. Tarceva is not cheap. It can cost over $2000 per month for these little pills, which you must take once a day.
*****
The last time I checked, the National Health Service had made a decision that they simply could not afford to offer Tarceva as part of their national health care system. They figured it was much better to allow their English brothers and sisters to die a little sooner than they might have otherwise.
****
The folks at the National Health Service are very busy people. They have an important job to do, and they are only allowed to spend so much. They have a lot of other English to take care of.
Mr. Charming
*****
In the U.K, that figure dropped all the way down to 46%. Canada fared even worse, at 42%. We are seeing a lot more Cancer Survivors here with our patch work system. We can probably improve on it, and we just might do that. Meanwhile, remember to tip the hat to what we have here in the United States. We are saving lives, and that's a good thing.
*****
First of all, it is very unfair to be comparing the health care systems of three very dissimilar countries as the U.S., Canada, and England. While it is true that we share a common heritage and language, along with a fondness for Monty Python, we do have our differences.
****
The population of the United States is enormous compared to the other two countries. While a lot of our people live in the cities, like they do in Canada, there is still a big percentage of the public who are happy to just live in the Vastness.
*****
Canada's population is relatively tiny, with most Canadians living in the cities of Canada's Deep South. The rest of the country is an empty place.
*****
I really can't comment on Canada's health care system. I am sure that it works pretty good some of the time. Just like anything else.
*****
England has a much larger population than Canada does. Still, it only amounts to about a third of the people that we have here in the United States.
*****
England is an Island Nation. England is relatively tiny. They do have a lot of empty, too. These empty places are more commonly known as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. There is a reason for this. Over the years people discovered that it was going to be hard to feed their families with nothing but wind and rocks. A lot of them moved away, creating even more empty. The rest of them had to settle for becoming Englishmen. To be fair, my grandfather was English. He jumped a steamer when he was twelve, and fled for opportunities here in America. He was a smart guy.
*****
England has no more room for the English. They are dying to get rid of some. This tends to explain why so many more people in England are dying from Cancer versus here in the good old USA. England is full up. They have to thin the herd.
*****
The National Health Service in England makes it possible for everyone to go see a doctor, only not at convenient times, like when you are sick, for example. In England, everything gets doled out to everybody else by the National Health Service, like spam. Then they have to make decisions about what types of drugs and treatments they can afford to offer. They are being very fair about the whole thing.
*****
If there is a Cancer medicine approved for widespread use in the United States, the chances are pretty good that it will be approved for in England, eventually. But that does not automatically mean that the drug will be provided by the National Health Service. They are on a strict budget.
****
The drug Tarceva is one example of this. Tarceva has been shown to be very effective in extending the lives of a particular class of lung Cancer patients. Tarceva is not cheap. It can cost over $2000 per month for these little pills, which you must take once a day.
*****
The last time I checked, the National Health Service had made a decision that they simply could not afford to offer Tarceva as part of their national health care system. They figured it was much better to allow their English brothers and sisters to die a little sooner than they might have otherwise.
****
The folks at the National Health Service are very busy people. They have an important job to do, and they are only allowed to spend so much. They have a lot of other English to take care of.
Mr. Charming
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