OUR NEW CIVIL WAR
We already did that civil war thing. It makes for high theatre but it could even get a little scary if we don’t separate our two political parties. They all need to take a time out. Stop the physical threats and insanity. Talk about a bad loser!
Does everything in Washington have to be this convoluted? Our congress can’t agree on anything unless it is just to disagree. I don’t see anything wrong with stating (waging) an opinion, taking a vote, and then going with the winner. That is what they call a two party system.
I do, however, take offense with the long haired brunette in the crowd stating we should tell the democrats to “Sit down and shut up.” I do understand the tone of the tea parties and that she was brought along because of her high profile status and feisty rhetoric. It works. It would even be entertaining if she were at some comedy club instead of just another OBAMA BASHING. If she doesn’t watch out, she may be called upon to run the country herself. (Excuse me; I need to go take some sort of a pill.)
There. I decided on anti-nausea med.
The other thing that makes me want to hurl is that she has been offered a reality show (according to the gossip mongers) for which she will receive $1,500,000 per episode. That’s what I am really mad about. It’s the money she is being paid and I am not. We seem to be about even on other things that matter. We are both mothers, even grandmothers. We both care about our country and the leaders thereof.
We both are concerned with wardrobe, lipstick, babies, book writing,……………mmm… that’s about it.
The things that stand out are our differences. You can bet she didn’t type her own manuscripts, for instance. I also can’t see Russia from my home, or shoot a gun; much less HIT something. I don’t wear clothes that cost the Republican Party $250,000, even though I would be willing to do that to bridge the gap. I also don’t wear waders to fish but only because I don’t fish; and also because my shoulders are not wide enough but neither are her’s. Maybe that is the THING that keeps us apart.
She just ‘goes for it’. My mission is to just watch and judge what she did wrong. It is bi-partisan enough. We don’t need to throw stones or stage a tea party.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Breast cancer is not NEWS. Ways to make it more tolerable IS.
CHARLAVAN BAKER HART has written a book called TITTATTS: LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER that could change the lives of so many victims. She knows. She is a survivor of advanced breast cancer.
After many surgeries and treatments, she had all the scars tattooed with flowers and butterflies. It worked like a miracle. Once she could no longer see the scars, the fight ended. She won and has been well for nine years. (and very COLORFUL.)
She is a seasoned author and columnist and approaches life with a smile and a bit of humor. There is nothing funny about cancer. A MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY isn’t a crowd pleaser but the book is. Her approach to it thru tears and fears will help a great many readers.
The fact that she had spent 20 years as an image consultant gave her the biggest challenge of her life and she met it head on.
She claims that looking better always makes you feel better. That needs to be shared.
One of the unique stories behind her healing was ‘leech therapy’ which was used to try and salvage a breast made from her own body. It failed but it made great theatre at the hospital. It is entertaining and informative reading. Her reconstruction doctor is famous as the originator and president of a charity group of doctors who perform operations for those in need and do it without compensation. He made a very generous endorsement of this book.
It is easy reading and is being applauded as a great help in the healing process by HEALING WITH A SMILE.
This book is just now being released and she is busy working on a follow-up, dealing with the different treatments for breast cancer. This one will be called THE LUMP and she shares what you can expect from the treatments like chemotherapy and estrogen deprivation.
Good stuff and easy reading. BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.
CHARLAVAN BAKER HART has written a book called TITTATTS: LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER that could change the lives of so many victims. She knows. She is a survivor of advanced breast cancer.
After many surgeries and treatments, she had all the scars tattooed with flowers and butterflies. It worked like a miracle. Once she could no longer see the scars, the fight ended. She won and has been well for nine years. (and very COLORFUL.)
She is a seasoned author and columnist and approaches life with a smile and a bit of humor. There is nothing funny about cancer. A MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY isn’t a crowd pleaser but the book is. Her approach to it thru tears and fears will help a great many readers.
The fact that she had spent 20 years as an image consultant gave her the biggest challenge of her life and she met it head on.
She claims that looking better always makes you feel better. That needs to be shared.
One of the unique stories behind her healing was ‘leech therapy’ which was used to try and salvage a breast made from her own body. It failed but it made great theatre at the hospital. It is entertaining and informative reading. Her reconstruction doctor is famous as the originator and president of a charity group of doctors who perform operations for those in need and do it without compensation. He made a very generous endorsement of this book.
It is easy reading and is being applauded as a great help in the healing process by HEALING WITH A SMILE.
This book is just now being released and she is busy working on a follow-up, dealing with the different treatments for breast cancer. This one will be called THE LUMP and she shares what you can expect from the treatments like chemotherapy and estrogen deprivation.
Good stuff and easy reading. BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
DUMB AS A BOX OF ROCKS
People! If you have a group of like minded folks, you want to speak up for your cause; you need to be very careful about whom you choose to be your spokesperson.
I heard an interview last night on the Joy Behaur CNN show with a guy pleading the cause of the tea partiers. He was rude, crude and insulting. I don’t know exactly what he said because I had my finger on the ‘mute’ button in self defense. She was as gracious as she could be. (If you listen to Joy, you know that has its limitations.)
But when she finally shut him off, he was undaunted. I think that wasn’t his first rodeo. He seemed pretty insulated if she didn’t subscribe to his views. Her next guest said “Why didn’t you close him down sooner?” She waved it off at the time but I would like to have heard what she had to say over breakfast this morning.
If you are following the story of the missing (and now presumed dead) little girl from Satsuma, Florida, several of the family members have been interviewed. WOW.
I could swear I was watching a movie. The scripting was entertaining. It lightened the spirit of the sad story. I have followed that story for 15 months, continuing to hope that they solve the mystery and find her alive.
I am embarrassed to think that is a bit amusing. It took a lot out of me. I kept the perspective with a little effort, because it could have gone either way. My feelings for the tragedy itself were divided by knowing that someone in that group was responsible for the death, and then back to the look and language of the interviewee. It was a rollercoaster ride and I do the same thing each time I re-live another airing of the story and another brain trust that is telling us what they know.
I am acutely aware that this is shallow of me and I try hard to keep focused. Honestly
I still think the movie version will be entertaining in some weird way (while I deny every bit of this in my twisted mind.)
Charlavan
619 850 2812
www.tittatts.com
www.charlavan.com
www.charlavan-breastcancer-nowwhat.blogspot.com
People! If you have a group of like minded folks, you want to speak up for your cause; you need to be very careful about whom you choose to be your spokesperson.
I heard an interview last night on the Joy Behaur CNN show with a guy pleading the cause of the tea partiers. He was rude, crude and insulting. I don’t know exactly what he said because I had my finger on the ‘mute’ button in self defense. She was as gracious as she could be. (If you listen to Joy, you know that has its limitations.)
But when she finally shut him off, he was undaunted. I think that wasn’t his first rodeo. He seemed pretty insulated if she didn’t subscribe to his views. Her next guest said “Why didn’t you close him down sooner?” She waved it off at the time but I would like to have heard what she had to say over breakfast this morning.
If you are following the story of the missing (and now presumed dead) little girl from Satsuma, Florida, several of the family members have been interviewed. WOW.
I could swear I was watching a movie. The scripting was entertaining. It lightened the spirit of the sad story. I have followed that story for 15 months, continuing to hope that they solve the mystery and find her alive.
I am embarrassed to think that is a bit amusing. It took a lot out of me. I kept the perspective with a little effort, because it could have gone either way. My feelings for the tragedy itself were divided by knowing that someone in that group was responsible for the death, and then back to the look and language of the interviewee. It was a rollercoaster ride and I do the same thing each time I re-live another airing of the story and another brain trust that is telling us what they know.
I am acutely aware that this is shallow of me and I try hard to keep focused. Honestly
I still think the movie version will be entertaining in some weird way (while I deny every bit of this in my twisted mind.)
Charlavan
619 850 2812
www.tittatts.com
www.charlavan.com
www.charlavan-breastcancer-nowwhat.blogspot.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
I TALK TO MYSELF
7:59 A.M. (I said to myself, I said ‘self’…)
Am I really ready to get up?
Well, I could but there is no urgency.
Who is that on the phone, calling me this early?
“This is Charlavan.
No, I think you have the wrong number. I didn't ask for an estimate.”
Well, I am awake so I may as well make some coffee. Bret will probably come by pretty soon to see if I did. OK.
I may as well clean up the kitchen since I would really be a bitch if someone else left it this way.
I'll tell the publisher I am not quite ready to sign off on that manuscript. I need to email her. I don't want that book released until I get a marketing plan in place. Need to raise some money.
No, I'll write to Denise first. I lost her address. There it is.
Maybe I will apply for a loan to finance the marketing for it since I can't go forward without it.
OK, I did that but not sure I would take it even if I qualified. Those rates were not good.
I'll just do a little organizing of my desk before I get into anything else. Well, at least it looks better, even if it doesn't work as well.
My phone is really messing up. My little kids would laugh at that bit of ancient technology. I still can't open that labor intensive text from DB.
I'd better water those plants on the patio. Oops. Those are already soaked.
I really need to get those letters out. I'll check the mail at the same time. Well, that was an exercise in futility. I didn't need to go to the mailbox to get all those fliers but at least they didn't have 'windows'.
I'm not really hungry but I think I'll eat again. Maybe salmon patties. OK. There. They really needed some fresh onions. The onion chips just don't cut it.
It is about 4:00 and this is Wednesday so I'll make something to offer Missy when she comes by after work. It is her night out with the girls. I can't believe she is really bowling! Good for her.
I really should go have the car cleaned but I don't want to. I almost wish the Lakers would have lost one more game before they won. It was more fun watching the game while I eat. Just plain television watching is not compelling. I have heard that news. I am entertainment challenged.
I am really bored today. There are a thousand things I should be doing but most of them are not an option right now. Damn.
Maybe I'll just drive out to the casino and use that bit of credit they gave me. -----------not a good idea. I'll just have a Dr. Pepper.
I'll go to the spa. This swimsuit looks like do-do but it is comfortable. Shee-ott. They are caulking the pool and spa today! Gotta get out of this suit. It is really ugly.
OK, I'll write up that marketing plan. I always work better after I write it out – change it – change it again, read it, change it again. Now I need to make up a list of addresses. There. At least that is a start.
The computer just lost a group of files again! I'll reinstall that program. I hate this thing.
I love this thing. What would I do without it?
OK, I'll let the doctor look at my ear. If I can't hear very well on that side and it is hurting, it might not take Filini to figure out I have an ear infection. Too much of the spa? Maybe it will feel better tomorrow. I'll wait a little longer.
What's the date? Already?
Well, it is almost bedtime. Did I do anything productive? Sure. I got out of bed.
7:59 A.M. (I said to myself, I said ‘self’…)
Am I really ready to get up?
Well, I could but there is no urgency.
Who is that on the phone, calling me this early?
“This is Charlavan.
No, I think you have the wrong number. I didn't ask for an estimate.”
Well, I am awake so I may as well make some coffee. Bret will probably come by pretty soon to see if I did. OK.
I may as well clean up the kitchen since I would really be a bitch if someone else left it this way.
I'll tell the publisher I am not quite ready to sign off on that manuscript. I need to email her. I don't want that book released until I get a marketing plan in place. Need to raise some money.
No, I'll write to Denise first. I lost her address. There it is.
Maybe I will apply for a loan to finance the marketing for it since I can't go forward without it.
OK, I did that but not sure I would take it even if I qualified. Those rates were not good.
I'll just do a little organizing of my desk before I get into anything else. Well, at least it looks better, even if it doesn't work as well.
My phone is really messing up. My little kids would laugh at that bit of ancient technology. I still can't open that labor intensive text from DB.
I'd better water those plants on the patio. Oops. Those are already soaked.
I really need to get those letters out. I'll check the mail at the same time. Well, that was an exercise in futility. I didn't need to go to the mailbox to get all those fliers but at least they didn't have 'windows'.
I'm not really hungry but I think I'll eat again. Maybe salmon patties. OK. There. They really needed some fresh onions. The onion chips just don't cut it.
It is about 4:00 and this is Wednesday so I'll make something to offer Missy when she comes by after work. It is her night out with the girls. I can't believe she is really bowling! Good for her.
I really should go have the car cleaned but I don't want to. I almost wish the Lakers would have lost one more game before they won. It was more fun watching the game while I eat. Just plain television watching is not compelling. I have heard that news. I am entertainment challenged.
I am really bored today. There are a thousand things I should be doing but most of them are not an option right now. Damn.
Maybe I'll just drive out to the casino and use that bit of credit they gave me. -----------not a good idea. I'll just have a Dr. Pepper.
I'll go to the spa. This swimsuit looks like do-do but it is comfortable. Shee-ott. They are caulking the pool and spa today! Gotta get out of this suit. It is really ugly.
OK, I'll write up that marketing plan. I always work better after I write it out – change it – change it again, read it, change it again. Now I need to make up a list of addresses. There. At least that is a start.
The computer just lost a group of files again! I'll reinstall that program. I hate this thing.
I love this thing. What would I do without it?
OK, I'll let the doctor look at my ear. If I can't hear very well on that side and it is hurting, it might not take Filini to figure out I have an ear infection. Too much of the spa? Maybe it will feel better tomorrow. I'll wait a little longer.
What's the date? Already?
Well, it is almost bedtime. Did I do anything productive? Sure. I got out of bed.
THE WALKING WOUNDED
Timing is everything. I have been obsessed for the last few months getting a book ready to publish about life after breast cancer. In fact, that is ALL I have been doing. I have the publisher, am having the site built for the survivors and have been two weeks now recording the audio version of the book.
Right now I am busy looking for sponsors for the project. I thought the writing and reading were the hard parts. No, it is the raising money from sponsors or donors. BUT I woke up way too early this morning to find that the three big network anchors were TOGETHER in one interview, announcing they were bonding together to fight the cancer issue until we find a cure for it. Each and every one of them had lost at least two family members to the disease.
It is taking over the world right now. I feel like I have been put in the right place at the right time.
However, with no better option available, the focus is just to pour more and more money on the problem until a cure is found. My thought, though, is that I have never heard a single word about the lack of funding being the problem. I feel so strongly about this, it is hard to be objective. Naturally, I want the American Cancer Society to be funded for whatever scientific method is out there. And I feel in my heart it will happen. But the fact that it hasn't happened yet is probably not for lack of funding.
The focus of what I have written is about life after breast cancer because from a personal standpoint, that is what I know about. I know about the devastation these women and their families feel when they learn they too have breast cancer. THEY need support. They (we) represent the experts on how to recover from this if we are given a chance. Those are the WALKING WOUNDED. There are millions who need help in coping. The feeling has been if you are one of the lucky ones and survive, you don't need any more help. So, my efforts are to help the ones regain a life and go on stronger than before. It always impacts families and finances as well as quality of life.
What is more urgent to me is that there are so many people with no insurance and therefore not offered all that is available to those with proper funding. Those too are ones I would like to help. There will be a method in my project for donations to be made for these people. There will also be a way to pay tribute to those that didn't make it and have their stories told if the family would like. This was prompted by hearing from one of my best friends in Orange County this week and learning that her daughter had just died from breast cancer. I am more convinced that I survived for a reason.
One of the things I am working on right now is validating the use of natural herbs in fighting the disease. I have been collaborating with a young woman who had had a radical mastectomy in her late 30's and had been given all the chemo, multiple surgeries and still given only a month then to live. She opted for treating herself just with herbal treatment and that was 13 years ago. I think that may be better news than perhaps we have found even in the medical field. Unfortunately those herbs cost her over $10,000 and none of it covered by insurance.
Now I can get off my band box and get back to work. I am glad this much national attention is being paid to the subject and am sure it will also bode well in the promotion of my own book. People are going to be helped here.
Sorry about this being not the least bit humorous because that is usually my M.O. but you will find some humor in the title of this book. It is "Tit Tatts: Life After Breast Cancer." (smile here) I am a piece of walking artwork but as far as the world knows, I have no scars!!
Timing is everything. I have been obsessed for the last few months getting a book ready to publish about life after breast cancer. In fact, that is ALL I have been doing. I have the publisher, am having the site built for the survivors and have been two weeks now recording the audio version of the book.
Right now I am busy looking for sponsors for the project. I thought the writing and reading were the hard parts. No, it is the raising money from sponsors or donors. BUT I woke up way too early this morning to find that the three big network anchors were TOGETHER in one interview, announcing they were bonding together to fight the cancer issue until we find a cure for it. Each and every one of them had lost at least two family members to the disease.
It is taking over the world right now. I feel like I have been put in the right place at the right time.
However, with no better option available, the focus is just to pour more and more money on the problem until a cure is found. My thought, though, is that I have never heard a single word about the lack of funding being the problem. I feel so strongly about this, it is hard to be objective. Naturally, I want the American Cancer Society to be funded for whatever scientific method is out there. And I feel in my heart it will happen. But the fact that it hasn't happened yet is probably not for lack of funding.
The focus of what I have written is about life after breast cancer because from a personal standpoint, that is what I know about. I know about the devastation these women and their families feel when they learn they too have breast cancer. THEY need support. They (we) represent the experts on how to recover from this if we are given a chance. Those are the WALKING WOUNDED. There are millions who need help in coping. The feeling has been if you are one of the lucky ones and survive, you don't need any more help. So, my efforts are to help the ones regain a life and go on stronger than before. It always impacts families and finances as well as quality of life.
What is more urgent to me is that there are so many people with no insurance and therefore not offered all that is available to those with proper funding. Those too are ones I would like to help. There will be a method in my project for donations to be made for these people. There will also be a way to pay tribute to those that didn't make it and have their stories told if the family would like. This was prompted by hearing from one of my best friends in Orange County this week and learning that her daughter had just died from breast cancer. I am more convinced that I survived for a reason.
One of the things I am working on right now is validating the use of natural herbs in fighting the disease. I have been collaborating with a young woman who had had a radical mastectomy in her late 30's and had been given all the chemo, multiple surgeries and still given only a month then to live. She opted for treating herself just with herbal treatment and that was 13 years ago. I think that may be better news than perhaps we have found even in the medical field. Unfortunately those herbs cost her over $10,000 and none of it covered by insurance.
Now I can get off my band box and get back to work. I am glad this much national attention is being paid to the subject and am sure it will also bode well in the promotion of my own book. People are going to be helped here.
Sorry about this being not the least bit humorous because that is usually my M.O. but you will find some humor in the title of this book. It is "Tit Tatts: Life After Breast Cancer." (smile here) I am a piece of walking artwork but as far as the world knows, I have no scars!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
KNOW WHAT REALLY TURNS ME ON?
COOL!
No, not cool that you know the answer, but COOL IS the answer. I am impressed with a lot of things - superior intelligence, extreme talent, good looks, great sense of humor, natural smile (WAY UP THERE), personality, good carriage, power, concepts beyond my comprehension, and a whale of a lot of other things people possess. But the thing that really turns me on is COOL. Grace under fire.
If you really must fall apart, do so after you have handled the crisis. There are so many things in the course of a day, a week, a life, when you can just LOSE IT. If you aren’t able to handle it with a bit of calm and class, you probably won’t be invited back into the inner circle. There are a few places that are just a set up for those who can’t keep their cool.
Airports are high on the list. The traveler is not usually as challenged as the guy that is supposed to PICK UP the traveler at a designated spot. It is time sensitive because the exact arrival time is inexact. There is no place to park unless you want to go to the parking garage and make the trek to baggage pick-up after you hook up. Or you can get back in the cue to pick them up (standing by their bags on the sidewalk) without much time or space. I have been there on one too many occasions and by the time your ‘picker-upper’ finds you, you are both steamed and thinking the whole idea might have been a misser. What a great way to start or end a vacation. Cell phones have done a lot to ease the problem but it doesn’t really erase it because the cool-free character can usually make a production out of that.
OR, see if this rings a bell with you…..someone is taking a shower and in the adjoining part of the bath the toilet is flushed. The ‘shower-er’ jumps THROUGH the glass door of the shower to escape the hot water. Not cool. It is entirely possible to live past the hot water surge without extreme danger. The same can’t be said for jumping through a glass door, even though they are shatter proof. ‘Cool-ly’ moving out of the way of the water would definitely have been a better choice. (Or choosing a mate who can remember not to flush.)
NOT COOL.
How about this?? You see a little too late that there is a paper bag in the street. You ‘SWERVE’ and barely miss it. The passenger gets a whip lash and the driver gets a lashing, but you miss the bag. Now even if the bag had explosives in it, which is rare, laying right by that dumpster the bag flew out of, it just might have been wiser to take a chance on it just being an old bag full of hamburger wrappings. You could have slightly turned the wheel and missed it completely or taken a wild chance and run over it. Either would have been a much better choice than to risk life and limb for everyone with those wild maneuvers.
NOT COOL.
So, if defensive driving is in your blood and it takes your full concentration, just drive all by yourself. All of those wild antics might add to your enjoyment and make the trip go faster (smoother would be out of the equation). And you might also make your destination on time but totally frazzled and NOT COOL.
Have you ever been HERE??? You make an innocent telephone call to someone and the reason for the call is not earth-shattering anyway but you want to talk about it. Ring - ring - ring - no answer. Fine, just as you start to hang up, someone yells, HELLO! Who is this?? Click. Not cool. If they were too busy or unable to talk right then, how are you supposed to know that? Just don’t answer the freaking phone if you can’t talk. It is a communication device over which we have a bit of control. The call was well intended, poorly received. How could you have been so insensitive to call right then about almost nothing? Didn’t need to push the panic button and I certainly don’t need to talk to you NOW.
So, please, the next time you are tempted to lose your cool, be prepared to lose a lot more than your cool. You might be taken off the Christmas card list. DRAMA IS OVER-RATED. COOL IS SEXY.
COOL!
No, not cool that you know the answer, but COOL IS the answer. I am impressed with a lot of things - superior intelligence, extreme talent, good looks, great sense of humor, natural smile (WAY UP THERE), personality, good carriage, power, concepts beyond my comprehension, and a whale of a lot of other things people possess. But the thing that really turns me on is COOL. Grace under fire.
If you really must fall apart, do so after you have handled the crisis. There are so many things in the course of a day, a week, a life, when you can just LOSE IT. If you aren’t able to handle it with a bit of calm and class, you probably won’t be invited back into the inner circle. There are a few places that are just a set up for those who can’t keep their cool.
Airports are high on the list. The traveler is not usually as challenged as the guy that is supposed to PICK UP the traveler at a designated spot. It is time sensitive because the exact arrival time is inexact. There is no place to park unless you want to go to the parking garage and make the trek to baggage pick-up after you hook up. Or you can get back in the cue to pick them up (standing by their bags on the sidewalk) without much time or space. I have been there on one too many occasions and by the time your ‘picker-upper’ finds you, you are both steamed and thinking the whole idea might have been a misser. What a great way to start or end a vacation. Cell phones have done a lot to ease the problem but it doesn’t really erase it because the cool-free character can usually make a production out of that.
OR, see if this rings a bell with you…..someone is taking a shower and in the adjoining part of the bath the toilet is flushed. The ‘shower-er’ jumps THROUGH the glass door of the shower to escape the hot water. Not cool. It is entirely possible to live past the hot water surge without extreme danger. The same can’t be said for jumping through a glass door, even though they are shatter proof. ‘Cool-ly’ moving out of the way of the water would definitely have been a better choice. (Or choosing a mate who can remember not to flush.)
NOT COOL.
How about this?? You see a little too late that there is a paper bag in the street. You ‘SWERVE’ and barely miss it. The passenger gets a whip lash and the driver gets a lashing, but you miss the bag. Now even if the bag had explosives in it, which is rare, laying right by that dumpster the bag flew out of, it just might have been wiser to take a chance on it just being an old bag full of hamburger wrappings. You could have slightly turned the wheel and missed it completely or taken a wild chance and run over it. Either would have been a much better choice than to risk life and limb for everyone with those wild maneuvers.
NOT COOL.
So, if defensive driving is in your blood and it takes your full concentration, just drive all by yourself. All of those wild antics might add to your enjoyment and make the trip go faster (smoother would be out of the equation). And you might also make your destination on time but totally frazzled and NOT COOL.
Have you ever been HERE??? You make an innocent telephone call to someone and the reason for the call is not earth-shattering anyway but you want to talk about it. Ring - ring - ring - no answer. Fine, just as you start to hang up, someone yells, HELLO! Who is this?? Click. Not cool. If they were too busy or unable to talk right then, how are you supposed to know that? Just don’t answer the freaking phone if you can’t talk. It is a communication device over which we have a bit of control. The call was well intended, poorly received. How could you have been so insensitive to call right then about almost nothing? Didn’t need to push the panic button and I certainly don’t need to talk to you NOW.
So, please, the next time you are tempted to lose your cool, be prepared to lose a lot more than your cool. You might be taken off the Christmas card list. DRAMA IS OVER-RATED. COOL IS SEXY.
MAYBE THAT LITTLE MISHAP IN THE GARDEN WASN’T ALL EVE’S FAULT
Maybe she wasn’t getting enough quality time from Adam. She had to be bored out of her mind. She was listening to a SNAKE. No pun intended.
Boredom is a terrible thing and needs to be stopped. It is dangerous at any age. When a child is bored he gets himself into the most unprovoked trouble. When you are bored during middle age, complete families and lifestyles are in jeopardy and when it happens in old age it is pitiful. Do something TODAY to insulate yourself against that. Surely there is something you meant to do or learn or try that you have been putting off because you thought your everyday routine was more important. REALLY!!!!
You need a project! Become an expert on something. Develop an interest in some off the wall thought you had a long time ago and get involved. It is for your mental health if nothing else..
You know how I feel about ‘getting out more’. Stop creating such a small environment for yourself. Even if you are happiest when you are home, doing nothing, find something to do there that lights your fire before you go brain dead. The brain cells need to be used. (My cousin, Erm, tells me that when she gets into a retirement home they won’t have to teach her to chain stitch.) I concede to that option as well. It takes all kinds and that is the fun of it.
And stop letting society dictate what you should and shouldn’t be doing with your time and ‘self’. We get stuck in ruts that others have imposed. Maybe they need to stretch a little more themselves. Wear white shoes AND white gloves after Labor Day if you want to.
Stay up all night if there is a good movie on or if that is the only time you can enjoy the peace and quiet of the house. Find a new friend in a place you wouldn’t suspect. Stop worrying about whether you have enough in common to hang out. You don’t have to be alike to enjoy each other.
The most interesting people I know are quite different from me. I love that.
I have found people in unsuspecting places that broaden my world and my views and you would never have put us together.
When you become more interested yourself, you are more interesting to others. No doubt Adam was bored with her too. Remember though – they did have children so they were not always bored with each other. They just needed more challenges and to develop other interests.
I can play poker on line while watching a movie on the same screen with the Picture-In-Picture while I am listening to a very old country western album that I am still trying to learn all the words to. My next goal is to learn how to hook all that stuff up because sometime I will be expected to do that for myself as well as load the pictures from my digital camera into the computer and send them to you. I have to go…..I am very busy. (but not bored)
Maybe she wasn’t getting enough quality time from Adam. She had to be bored out of her mind. She was listening to a SNAKE. No pun intended.
Boredom is a terrible thing and needs to be stopped. It is dangerous at any age. When a child is bored he gets himself into the most unprovoked trouble. When you are bored during middle age, complete families and lifestyles are in jeopardy and when it happens in old age it is pitiful. Do something TODAY to insulate yourself against that. Surely there is something you meant to do or learn or try that you have been putting off because you thought your everyday routine was more important. REALLY!!!!
You need a project! Become an expert on something. Develop an interest in some off the wall thought you had a long time ago and get involved. It is for your mental health if nothing else..
You know how I feel about ‘getting out more’. Stop creating such a small environment for yourself. Even if you are happiest when you are home, doing nothing, find something to do there that lights your fire before you go brain dead. The brain cells need to be used. (My cousin, Erm, tells me that when she gets into a retirement home they won’t have to teach her to chain stitch.) I concede to that option as well. It takes all kinds and that is the fun of it.
And stop letting society dictate what you should and shouldn’t be doing with your time and ‘self’. We get stuck in ruts that others have imposed. Maybe they need to stretch a little more themselves. Wear white shoes AND white gloves after Labor Day if you want to.
Stay up all night if there is a good movie on or if that is the only time you can enjoy the peace and quiet of the house. Find a new friend in a place you wouldn’t suspect. Stop worrying about whether you have enough in common to hang out. You don’t have to be alike to enjoy each other.
The most interesting people I know are quite different from me. I love that.
I have found people in unsuspecting places that broaden my world and my views and you would never have put us together.
When you become more interested yourself, you are more interesting to others. No doubt Adam was bored with her too. Remember though – they did have children so they were not always bored with each other. They just needed more challenges and to develop other interests.
I can play poker on line while watching a movie on the same screen with the Picture-In-Picture while I am listening to a very old country western album that I am still trying to learn all the words to. My next goal is to learn how to hook all that stuff up because sometime I will be expected to do that for myself as well as load the pictures from my digital camera into the computer and send them to you. I have to go…..I am very busy. (but not bored)
MIKE AND ME……………………
I am an artist. Michelangelo was an artist. I am a Pieces, he was a Pieces. He is recognized by one name. Even the banks will cash my checks just like that. Coincidence? I don't think so. I was born at least 400 years after he was. He left (in my opinion) the world's most beautiful body of work. Our sameness ended a couple of statements back there. He had a HUGE influence on my life.
No, he didn't inspire me to 'become' an artist. I think artists are born. He inspired me, period. Fairly early in my life, we traveled to Rome to see Michelangelo's Pieta. For creations by man, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and the thought of it still moves me to tears. I intended to cut and paste a picture of it to include in this article. I just couldn't do it. It would have been such an injustice. You got one of mine instead.
Even though he painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel which is awesome, just looking at all of it makes your neck hurt.
But he really didn't even like to paint. He was commissioned by the church for most of his work and he didn't want to do that. He did that series of paintings for the ceiling, on the condition that the Pope stop making suggestions. Four years later he finished it but his neck was never the same. Neither, of course, was the art world.
His passion was sculpting. (My son calls him the 'true chipper'.)
At the age of 22 he did this magnificent sculpture, depicting the Mother Mary, holding the body of her son, Jesus. It is larger than life, made from one piece of marble. Even the task of finding the stone, having it carted by hand to the studio would be a story in itself.
But this finished piece sits in Vatican City in a dimly lit area with beautiful lighting. I went. I looked. I cried. I saw people walking by, barely stopping!! There is a lot of other stuff in there, but come on……..I was taught from my early youth about the death of Jesus. I was familiar with that story and I wasn't on a religious holiday. What I wasn't ready for was the talent of this young artist. That was God's work.
He shows Mary as a young woman, not the age she would have been then. I love artist's liberties. The story goes that when the piece was first unveiled, Michelangelo stood in the crowd and listened to comments by the viewers regarding the work. He over-heard someone give credit to another artist for it. It made him mad. He slipped in through the back door late at night and carved his name on the sash of Mary's robe (in immodestly large letters). He never signed another piece but I am proud of him for getting credit where it was due.
It is a true mystery to me that this is even possible. I think of that work on a rather regular basis. I just don't know how he did it. His 16 foot statue of David is impressive but I can look at it without crying. The Pieta I can't.
Put it on your short list of things you have to do.
I am an artist. Michelangelo was an artist. I am a Pieces, he was a Pieces. He is recognized by one name. Even the banks will cash my checks just like that. Coincidence? I don't think so. I was born at least 400 years after he was. He left (in my opinion) the world's most beautiful body of work. Our sameness ended a couple of statements back there. He had a HUGE influence on my life.
No, he didn't inspire me to 'become' an artist. I think artists are born. He inspired me, period. Fairly early in my life, we traveled to Rome to see Michelangelo's Pieta. For creations by man, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and the thought of it still moves me to tears. I intended to cut and paste a picture of it to include in this article. I just couldn't do it. It would have been such an injustice. You got one of mine instead.
Even though he painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel which is awesome, just looking at all of it makes your neck hurt.
But he really didn't even like to paint. He was commissioned by the church for most of his work and he didn't want to do that. He did that series of paintings for the ceiling, on the condition that the Pope stop making suggestions. Four years later he finished it but his neck was never the same. Neither, of course, was the art world.
His passion was sculpting. (My son calls him the 'true chipper'.)
At the age of 22 he did this magnificent sculpture, depicting the Mother Mary, holding the body of her son, Jesus. It is larger than life, made from one piece of marble. Even the task of finding the stone, having it carted by hand to the studio would be a story in itself.
But this finished piece sits in Vatican City in a dimly lit area with beautiful lighting. I went. I looked. I cried. I saw people walking by, barely stopping!! There is a lot of other stuff in there, but come on……..I was taught from my early youth about the death of Jesus. I was familiar with that story and I wasn't on a religious holiday. What I wasn't ready for was the talent of this young artist. That was God's work.
He shows Mary as a young woman, not the age she would have been then. I love artist's liberties. The story goes that when the piece was first unveiled, Michelangelo stood in the crowd and listened to comments by the viewers regarding the work. He over-heard someone give credit to another artist for it. It made him mad. He slipped in through the back door late at night and carved his name on the sash of Mary's robe (in immodestly large letters). He never signed another piece but I am proud of him for getting credit where it was due.
It is a true mystery to me that this is even possible. I think of that work on a rather regular basis. I just don't know how he did it. His 16 foot statue of David is impressive but I can look at it without crying. The Pieta I can't.
Put it on your short list of things you have to do.
GET DOWN WITCHU BAD SELF…………
And don’t leave too much on the table.
When I was diagnosed with cancer the doctor said my chances for a full recovery were pretty good, as long as it hadn’t spread into the lymph notes or elsewhere. Then it would be reduced considerably. I bet on the odds being good so I refused to worry about that too much. When I woke up after surgery, I learned that indeed the cancer had invaded about 40% of the nodes they had checked.
As soon as I could think past the medications, I decided I would focus my lifestyle on doing just things that I had been too reserved to do otherwise. There is something a little perversely liberating which strikes you, thinking you might not be around forever. Don’t ask me. I just write this stuff. It seemed sort of like a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card.
In my real world, having been born and raised in a small town (not exactly Sin City) there were just so many things that I hadn’t done or even considered. But, I think I just wanted to find out if I had left anything on the table. I knew that leopards didn’t really change their spots but I thought I would just do whatever I wanted to. I had absolutely nothing in mind but started honestly running through ideas that I might want to try now that I had the free card.
I had never drunk an alcoholic beverage. Stop rolling your eyes. I also had never smoked a cigarette. I didn’t do those things because I decided as a teenager that I didn’t want to go down that road. The drinking issue was pretty firmly set by some long list of uncles with drinking problems. Besides, there was not a bar in town. I know it is not a huge thing but I can drink almost a full glass of wine now. I couldn’t even try the cigarettes. There are better ways to kill yourself.
During the chemo period I tried marijuana to reduce the nausea. That wasn’t for me. It is hard to get out of your comfort zone, even when you are trying.
I tried and conquered the idea of dressing any way I wanted to and forget how old I was (am). There was no reason for me to dress my age. Any kind of swim suit was fine. It is all right to shop in the Junior Department if that is the size that actually fits you. I wasn’t on a mission to prove anything. That really is a size, not an age. Anything that looked like ‘cruise wear’ had never appealed to me. It is usually boring. Now I would wear white shoes after Labor Day if I wanted to. (Baby steps.)
My next venture was to use four letter words any time they fit. Turns out they fit really often. I got a head jerk with those. I loved it. Still do.
I lost my last gallery with the cancer so I was ready for a new job. I chose what I thought would be a total departure. I worked as a professional poker player at night. That sounded a lot more risqué that it was. It was a beautiful room with some nice people. I made a lot of new friends but they saw right thru me. They knew the real me and I was still in there, safe and sound.
I tried several other ‘edgy’ things during that time and one of them was this:
Before bed each night I loved to go for a walk. I needed to exercise to get my full strength back and liked to fill my lungs with the fresh night air before I went to sleep.
We lived on a hill at the end of a cul-de-sac with no traffic and few neighbors. It was cold out. So my new edgy self would go out alone with just a little music in my ear and walk……… That was nice but not exciting. Then I pulled out a full length mink coat that never got to leave the closet in California. But when I wore that OVER my other clothes, it was a little too warm. So I started taking off “other clothes”. With just scanty lingerie under that satin lined coat, it made the walks a lot more fun………..Of course, it was dark and quiet but it worked for me. With that get-up and the music, the walks were more meaningful. Mostly it meant that I hadn’t saved that coat for nothing. I hadn’t come up with any other reason but it put a little smile in my heart. When someone would ask, “Are you still walking at night?” Yep. “Doctor’s orders?” Nope.
And don’t leave too much on the table.
When I was diagnosed with cancer the doctor said my chances for a full recovery were pretty good, as long as it hadn’t spread into the lymph notes or elsewhere. Then it would be reduced considerably. I bet on the odds being good so I refused to worry about that too much. When I woke up after surgery, I learned that indeed the cancer had invaded about 40% of the nodes they had checked.
As soon as I could think past the medications, I decided I would focus my lifestyle on doing just things that I had been too reserved to do otherwise. There is something a little perversely liberating which strikes you, thinking you might not be around forever. Don’t ask me. I just write this stuff. It seemed sort of like a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card.
In my real world, having been born and raised in a small town (not exactly Sin City) there were just so many things that I hadn’t done or even considered. But, I think I just wanted to find out if I had left anything on the table. I knew that leopards didn’t really change their spots but I thought I would just do whatever I wanted to. I had absolutely nothing in mind but started honestly running through ideas that I might want to try now that I had the free card.
I had never drunk an alcoholic beverage. Stop rolling your eyes. I also had never smoked a cigarette. I didn’t do those things because I decided as a teenager that I didn’t want to go down that road. The drinking issue was pretty firmly set by some long list of uncles with drinking problems. Besides, there was not a bar in town. I know it is not a huge thing but I can drink almost a full glass of wine now. I couldn’t even try the cigarettes. There are better ways to kill yourself.
During the chemo period I tried marijuana to reduce the nausea. That wasn’t for me. It is hard to get out of your comfort zone, even when you are trying.
I tried and conquered the idea of dressing any way I wanted to and forget how old I was (am). There was no reason for me to dress my age. Any kind of swim suit was fine. It is all right to shop in the Junior Department if that is the size that actually fits you. I wasn’t on a mission to prove anything. That really is a size, not an age. Anything that looked like ‘cruise wear’ had never appealed to me. It is usually boring. Now I would wear white shoes after Labor Day if I wanted to. (Baby steps.)
My next venture was to use four letter words any time they fit. Turns out they fit really often. I got a head jerk with those. I loved it. Still do.
I lost my last gallery with the cancer so I was ready for a new job. I chose what I thought would be a total departure. I worked as a professional poker player at night. That sounded a lot more risqué that it was. It was a beautiful room with some nice people. I made a lot of new friends but they saw right thru me. They knew the real me and I was still in there, safe and sound.
I tried several other ‘edgy’ things during that time and one of them was this:
Before bed each night I loved to go for a walk. I needed to exercise to get my full strength back and liked to fill my lungs with the fresh night air before I went to sleep.
We lived on a hill at the end of a cul-de-sac with no traffic and few neighbors. It was cold out. So my new edgy self would go out alone with just a little music in my ear and walk……… That was nice but not exciting. Then I pulled out a full length mink coat that never got to leave the closet in California. But when I wore that OVER my other clothes, it was a little too warm. So I started taking off “other clothes”. With just scanty lingerie under that satin lined coat, it made the walks a lot more fun………..Of course, it was dark and quiet but it worked for me. With that get-up and the music, the walks were more meaningful. Mostly it meant that I hadn’t saved that coat for nothing. I hadn’t come up with any other reason but it put a little smile in my heart. When someone would ask, “Are you still walking at night?” Yep. “Doctor’s orders?” Nope.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
ITS BEEN A LONG TIME
since I have seen my artwork hanging in a gallery. In fact, the beginning of the cancer chapter was the end of the gallery gala. (Not exactly accidental.) So, since then you can imagine how that collection of art has been treated. You can’t exactly justify getting rid of them. You can donate them to different places; you can rent a storage room. You can hang them end-to-end on walls in your home that don’t really want them. Most products you can name have better solutions for storage than paintings do.
I have done all of the above.
Now I have an office in the largest gallery in East San Diego and have been invited to participate in their monthly exhibits. Then I had to take a critical look at those things I had been playing mother hen to for these eight years. They are scratched, have damaged frames, some not that good in the beginning, and others that I have grown so attached to that I don’t want to hang and sell them.
That leaves a small window there for ones good enough to hang, bad enough to get rid of, the ‘might work if I did a little more work on it,’ plus frames that might be fixable, and scrap those that are not. You see the problem here.
For those old enough to remember (or care), I have been painting for many, way too many years; until eight years ago. In total I have owned four galleries, so most of my life has been spent with that. The last one I opened was exactly three months before I was diagnosed with cancer. Since it was breast cancer, holding my arms up long enough to paint was an effort. Actually that is a cop-out. With the closing of the gallery was also the loss of the studio, so there was no convenient place to put up with all the mess, much less the smell of paint and thinner in any room you choose.
Factor in that without a gallery, and the speed with which I paint, it is always a problem with where to put them. So, I stopped painting. It was a life-changing event for me.
So, I pulled together a show last week and it will be hung this weekend. I am excited. My solution for the whole dilemma was to just triple the prices and then I won’t shed many tears if some of the loved ones sell. Maybe no one will like the ones I do and we will all be happy.
Gotta go now. I need to paint…
since I have seen my artwork hanging in a gallery. In fact, the beginning of the cancer chapter was the end of the gallery gala. (Not exactly accidental.) So, since then you can imagine how that collection of art has been treated. You can’t exactly justify getting rid of them. You can donate them to different places; you can rent a storage room. You can hang them end-to-end on walls in your home that don’t really want them. Most products you can name have better solutions for storage than paintings do.
I have done all of the above.
Now I have an office in the largest gallery in East San Diego and have been invited to participate in their monthly exhibits. Then I had to take a critical look at those things I had been playing mother hen to for these eight years. They are scratched, have damaged frames, some not that good in the beginning, and others that I have grown so attached to that I don’t want to hang and sell them.
That leaves a small window there for ones good enough to hang, bad enough to get rid of, the ‘might work if I did a little more work on it,’ plus frames that might be fixable, and scrap those that are not. You see the problem here.
For those old enough to remember (or care), I have been painting for many, way too many years; until eight years ago. In total I have owned four galleries, so most of my life has been spent with that. The last one I opened was exactly three months before I was diagnosed with cancer. Since it was breast cancer, holding my arms up long enough to paint was an effort. Actually that is a cop-out. With the closing of the gallery was also the loss of the studio, so there was no convenient place to put up with all the mess, much less the smell of paint and thinner in any room you choose.
Factor in that without a gallery, and the speed with which I paint, it is always a problem with where to put them. So, I stopped painting. It was a life-changing event for me.
So, I pulled together a show last week and it will be hung this weekend. I am excited. My solution for the whole dilemma was to just triple the prices and then I won’t shed many tears if some of the loved ones sell. Maybe no one will like the ones I do and we will all be happy.
Gotta go now. I need to paint…
FROM DIAPERS TO DIAPERS
All those years in between are what we refer to as life.
I was meeting this week with a publicist and we were talking about the book I wrote on breast cancer. His concern was with the title. He is a writer and editor as well so he thought that was his job. It is called Tittatts: Life After Breast Cancer. He wondered if that might be offensive to anyone ‘given my age’. He also wondered if people of all ages would know that ‘tatts’ referred to tattoos and would that be accepted by the masses? I stopped short of hurting him but it has been on my mind ever since then.
His perception was that perhaps a teenager might refer to breasts as tits but it might not fly well with all older ages. In fact, perhaps it is not even a word women refer to as often as men. Did I ever consider changing it? No. The name won’t be changed. You know exactly what portion of the anatomy I am referring to.
I went on to tell him that I had been wrestling with the name in the beginning and late one night, while talking to a publisher who was working with me, I said, “Kent, just call it BOOBS. I am going to bed.” The next day I was shopping at a book store with my daughter and I ran smack into a book on breast cancer with that name. My daughter said, “Mom, just call yours Tit Tatts. No one will use that.”
The publicist’s next question was “Can I mount a campaign based on your looks at your age?” He may be left with a scar. “NO”.
You think I might be a little sensitive? Probably. But if he had known my feelings about that he wouldn’t have put himself at risk. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t care if I were 25 but I do think I have always been interested. Otherwise I wouldn’t have formed such a strong opinion. I remember hoping I lived a long, long time – providing I was not disabled by health or age. I didn’t want anyone having to change my diapers.
I read something a few years ago that impressed me more than it should but it matched my feelings so closely I adopted it as my very own. Once you announce your age, you become that age. It is not merely a matter of vanity. Age defines you immediately. You automatically change your perception of that person as soon as you know their age. You know what a ‘person that age’ should look like, act like and be.
We have a preconceived notion of what you are supposed to look like at each milestone. You are expected to ‘act your age’. Until you know that number, you don’t really expect anything. It is the announcement of it that starts the wheels turning. Pick up the newspaper and see how many stories have the person’s age immediately following their name so you can form an opinion of this person and slip them into a slot. It definitely colors your perception. Until then you are just mail or female. No other qualifiers.
I read a lot of medical reports on a variety of things. One day I read that all people can expect their body parts to ‘wear out’ by age 84. I dreaded the day that my mother would become 84. It caused me great pain to know that her parts were worn out. It is information I didn’t need. The truth is sometimes over-rated.
I have decided to work with that publicist because he is dedicated to the same cause I am and he is well qualified (especially now that he knows me better). He went on to ask if I would give anyone an honest answer if at a book signing, they asked my age. Of course. I don’t lie about it; I just don’t lead with it.
All those years in between are what we refer to as life.
I was meeting this week with a publicist and we were talking about the book I wrote on breast cancer. His concern was with the title. He is a writer and editor as well so he thought that was his job. It is called Tittatts: Life After Breast Cancer. He wondered if that might be offensive to anyone ‘given my age’. He also wondered if people of all ages would know that ‘tatts’ referred to tattoos and would that be accepted by the masses? I stopped short of hurting him but it has been on my mind ever since then.
His perception was that perhaps a teenager might refer to breasts as tits but it might not fly well with all older ages. In fact, perhaps it is not even a word women refer to as often as men. Did I ever consider changing it? No. The name won’t be changed. You know exactly what portion of the anatomy I am referring to.
I went on to tell him that I had been wrestling with the name in the beginning and late one night, while talking to a publisher who was working with me, I said, “Kent, just call it BOOBS. I am going to bed.” The next day I was shopping at a book store with my daughter and I ran smack into a book on breast cancer with that name. My daughter said, “Mom, just call yours Tit Tatts. No one will use that.”
The publicist’s next question was “Can I mount a campaign based on your looks at your age?” He may be left with a scar. “NO”.
You think I might be a little sensitive? Probably. But if he had known my feelings about that he wouldn’t have put himself at risk. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t care if I were 25 but I do think I have always been interested. Otherwise I wouldn’t have formed such a strong opinion. I remember hoping I lived a long, long time – providing I was not disabled by health or age. I didn’t want anyone having to change my diapers.
I read something a few years ago that impressed me more than it should but it matched my feelings so closely I adopted it as my very own. Once you announce your age, you become that age. It is not merely a matter of vanity. Age defines you immediately. You automatically change your perception of that person as soon as you know their age. You know what a ‘person that age’ should look like, act like and be.
We have a preconceived notion of what you are supposed to look like at each milestone. You are expected to ‘act your age’. Until you know that number, you don’t really expect anything. It is the announcement of it that starts the wheels turning. Pick up the newspaper and see how many stories have the person’s age immediately following their name so you can form an opinion of this person and slip them into a slot. It definitely colors your perception. Until then you are just mail or female. No other qualifiers.
I read a lot of medical reports on a variety of things. One day I read that all people can expect their body parts to ‘wear out’ by age 84. I dreaded the day that my mother would become 84. It caused me great pain to know that her parts were worn out. It is information I didn’t need. The truth is sometimes over-rated.
I have decided to work with that publicist because he is dedicated to the same cause I am and he is well qualified (especially now that he knows me better). He went on to ask if I would give anyone an honest answer if at a book signing, they asked my age. Of course. I don’t lie about it; I just don’t lead with it.
JUST SO I DON’T SPILL
I have spent so much of the last nine or ten years researching breast cancer, even though I try not to share everything I learn with you, right now I am compelled to share yesterday’s news.
There are a few people on the tube that I really admire so when they say something, I listen. One of those is Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We are tight.
‘Sanjay’ says that the newest revelation in cancer research was the low dose aspirin a day to keep the cancer from returning. That is too easy. If that proves out, there will be a cluster of pharmaceutical companies rushing to refute it. Aspirin is not patentable. Cancer research and treatment is a $200,000,000 industry. It has to be more complicated than that.
They are also claiming that estrogen is being used for the ongoing treatment as well. That too will be fought like the plague. It is not a belief shared by the cancer fighting industry. The toughest period of my life was the year and a half that I was denied estrogen. It ended with a trip to Mexico. I was much more concerned at that time with quality of life. I knew from nothing about the rest.
My adamant following of ‘Sanjay’ was reinforced not long ago when I saw him holding a baby in Haiti and you could see the pain on his face when he had to admit that he couldn’t help the child. He reluctantly handed the baby to a nurse but not without kissing his fingers and placing them on the baby’s head. That kind of caring and empathy go a long way toward healing people (and getting perks from the baby freakazoid in my soul.)
Please hand me the bottle of aspirin.
I have spent so much of the last nine or ten years researching breast cancer, even though I try not to share everything I learn with you, right now I am compelled to share yesterday’s news.
There are a few people on the tube that I really admire so when they say something, I listen. One of those is Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We are tight.
‘Sanjay’ says that the newest revelation in cancer research was the low dose aspirin a day to keep the cancer from returning. That is too easy. If that proves out, there will be a cluster of pharmaceutical companies rushing to refute it. Aspirin is not patentable. Cancer research and treatment is a $200,000,000 industry. It has to be more complicated than that.
They are also claiming that estrogen is being used for the ongoing treatment as well. That too will be fought like the plague. It is not a belief shared by the cancer fighting industry. The toughest period of my life was the year and a half that I was denied estrogen. It ended with a trip to Mexico. I was much more concerned at that time with quality of life. I knew from nothing about the rest.
My adamant following of ‘Sanjay’ was reinforced not long ago when I saw him holding a baby in Haiti and you could see the pain on his face when he had to admit that he couldn’t help the child. He reluctantly handed the baby to a nurse but not without kissing his fingers and placing them on the baby’s head. That kind of caring and empathy go a long way toward healing people (and getting perks from the baby freakazoid in my soul.)
Please hand me the bottle of aspirin.
YOU ARE TELLING ME YOU ARE SURPRISED?
I have been studying this for years and it has never changed nor even wavered and yet people seem to be genuinely surprised to learn that one more man has been caught having sex with an inappropriate partner.
David Letterman is the target for the day (week). He is not even in politics. But he has enough power and since absolute power corrupts absolutely, would you think that might happen on a fairly regular basis? It has always driven men and I can’t see how we can expect it to change.
The Catholic Church has been all but brought to their knees with the amount of priests who have succumbed to the temptation. That is power which eclipses even politics and skips right past these entertainment icons.
The most obvious is the amount of power money creates. It is the driving force in our society and in spite of how many goodies it can buy, there are other perks to be had. Sex is number one on the list.
If we could harness the drive, think of the energy it would create. It would all but empty out the jails, drive divorce courts out of business, and …………bankrupt our society. It is indeed a driving force. It is what gets men out of bed in the morning but it is also what gets them back into bed!! Those in between hours can be spent building an empire so he can have more ‘advantages’.
I don’t think there is a ‘fix’ for it so I believe the only change has to be in our perception of the issue a.k.a. problem. It has long been thought that women could effect a change in this behavior. Well, that may be true for one night or maybe even a month. But there would be no real change. Men are wired to think of sex first and then whatever else is on their mind a distant second. (Even golf isn’t that good.)
I am sure men fall in love just like women do but more often they fall in lust and that just doesn’t last as long. Our marriage rolls are really getting beaten up on. The divorce rate is over 50% now and growing. The only real change in a man’s behavior happens with age. Even then the mind stops well after the body.
I’ll be right over here if you need my take on any other problem and then I will spread these pearls all around again.
I have been studying this for years and it has never changed nor even wavered and yet people seem to be genuinely surprised to learn that one more man has been caught having sex with an inappropriate partner.
David Letterman is the target for the day (week). He is not even in politics. But he has enough power and since absolute power corrupts absolutely, would you think that might happen on a fairly regular basis? It has always driven men and I can’t see how we can expect it to change.
The Catholic Church has been all but brought to their knees with the amount of priests who have succumbed to the temptation. That is power which eclipses even politics and skips right past these entertainment icons.
The most obvious is the amount of power money creates. It is the driving force in our society and in spite of how many goodies it can buy, there are other perks to be had. Sex is number one on the list.
If we could harness the drive, think of the energy it would create. It would all but empty out the jails, drive divorce courts out of business, and …………bankrupt our society. It is indeed a driving force. It is what gets men out of bed in the morning but it is also what gets them back into bed!! Those in between hours can be spent building an empire so he can have more ‘advantages’.
I don’t think there is a ‘fix’ for it so I believe the only change has to be in our perception of the issue a.k.a. problem. It has long been thought that women could effect a change in this behavior. Well, that may be true for one night or maybe even a month. But there would be no real change. Men are wired to think of sex first and then whatever else is on their mind a distant second. (Even golf isn’t that good.)
I am sure men fall in love just like women do but more often they fall in lust and that just doesn’t last as long. Our marriage rolls are really getting beaten up on. The divorce rate is over 50% now and growing. The only real change in a man’s behavior happens with age. Even then the mind stops well after the body.
I’ll be right over here if you need my take on any other problem and then I will spread these pearls all around again.
I WAS HAPPIER BEFORE….
…I knew so much. I didn’t come into the world knowing that there was a price to pay for EVERYTHING.
BEFORE I knew even a tenth of what is actually going on in Washington. This murky gray area of knowing just enough to wonder what else they are doing is making me a little bit crazy.
BEFORE I knew you could ‘buy’ a senate seat, for instance. I hear that the newest senator wanna-be from Connecticut has set aside $50,000,000 of her own money to run. She and her husband accumulated that wealth from the world of wrestling. That should make her ready for a fight.
BEFORE I knew you could negotiate for a lesser crime committed by an admittedly guilty criminal. That should have no consequence in determining guilt or innocence.
BEFORE I knew how they make sausage.
BEFORE I knew how very little I actually know about computers, even though I use one for several hours each day.
BEFORE I knew the cost of housing people on death row and that only a very small percentage survive the waiting period.
BEFORE I knew where gelatin comes from.
(Skin, bones and hides of pigs, primarily). Of course, there is nothing wrong with that but I just didn’t need that visual which pops up right in the midst of my jello experience.
BEFORE I knew so much about earthquakes and that one major fault line falls right under southern California.
BEFORE I knew the extent of what it meant to be a ‘well oiled machine’ when they spoke of Tiger Woods.
…I knew so much. I didn’t come into the world knowing that there was a price to pay for EVERYTHING.
BEFORE I knew even a tenth of what is actually going on in Washington. This murky gray area of knowing just enough to wonder what else they are doing is making me a little bit crazy.
BEFORE I knew you could ‘buy’ a senate seat, for instance. I hear that the newest senator wanna-be from Connecticut has set aside $50,000,000 of her own money to run. She and her husband accumulated that wealth from the world of wrestling. That should make her ready for a fight.
BEFORE I knew you could negotiate for a lesser crime committed by an admittedly guilty criminal. That should have no consequence in determining guilt or innocence.
BEFORE I knew how they make sausage.
BEFORE I knew how very little I actually know about computers, even though I use one for several hours each day.
BEFORE I knew the cost of housing people on death row and that only a very small percentage survive the waiting period.
BEFORE I knew where gelatin comes from.
(Skin, bones and hides of pigs, primarily). Of course, there is nothing wrong with that but I just didn’t need that visual which pops up right in the midst of my jello experience.
BEFORE I knew so much about earthquakes and that one major fault line falls right under southern California.
BEFORE I knew the extent of what it meant to be a ‘well oiled machine’ when they spoke of Tiger Woods.
I MISJUDGED TIGER.............
Actually, he hurt my feelings. I gave him more credit than he deserved, it seems.
I am not talking about just his cheating on Elin. I never assumed he had a low libido.
I am just disappointed that he sold ME a bill of goods. I thought he was the exception rather than the norm. He represented the ideal family man and displayed his wife and kids to the likes of me as the gold standard. I bought into the whole thing. I told myself he was one of my favorite athletes because he is SO GOOD at what he does. Yeah and foresooth. Apparently he is indeed that good at a lot of things but we were using different measuring sticks.
Now I can see more clearly. He was 'all that' providing he was winning and private. Now he is losing and doing pentance!! After the Augusta tournament he was extremely normal. Even a grouch. When he was interviewed afterwards, he had very little charm to display. His explanation was that he didn't win, so "don't expect me to be happy." OK, we will have to wait a while.
He stated earlier in his public apology that he thought doing whatever he wanted was his entitlement. Really. He had worked hard, gotten to the top of his field and deserved what he had going. I have no doubt he will rebound and again show his incredible skill and if he is lucky, he will be thought of again just as one of the greatest golfers of all time. But he is going to have to work at it. It is not an entitlement. The golfing skills will rebound quicker than the rest. Unbelievable as it may seem, a lot of people have worked that hard but never really made it. I think he has a right to be unhappy. His laundry aired to a few hundred million again today; just slightly more than would have watched him before his 'entitlement.'
I had planned to stop right here. But I have to beat this to death, it seems. It has bothered me a LOT lately. I wanted to ignore it but after that last commercial ran with his dad's voice running over it, it just won't die for me. I thought it was a real risk to film that anyway. That sponsor got their money's worth since they had everyone's attention again. But as close as Tiger was to his dad, it seemed to be a cheap shot. His father was self serving in my eyes anyway. He had this incredible kid with mad skills which he promoted very successfully all his life. He was on Johnny Carson show when he was just around four. Must have been very lucky to pull that off. Tiger never failed to glorify him.
But he taught him a lot of other things besides golf. Those things the kid learned well. He assured him that with his extreme success and wealth, he could have any woman or women he wanted and would not need to 'settle' like Dad did. That apple didn't fall very far from the tree. This person he settled for was Tiger's mother. You don't do that. It justified my anger. I really didn't care as much about his conduct but if he followed his dad's advice, who is to blame here? Both. Every time I hear one more of those tidbits, I am mad all over again. It is my very own entitlement. Mothers hang together. This gossip is just stuff some other journalists dug up and not by my having a long talk with Tiger. Gee, I thought I would feel better after all this typing. I don't; so don't expect me to be happy. I lost too. FORE!!!
Actually, he hurt my feelings. I gave him more credit than he deserved, it seems.
I am not talking about just his cheating on Elin. I never assumed he had a low libido.
I am just disappointed that he sold ME a bill of goods. I thought he was the exception rather than the norm. He represented the ideal family man and displayed his wife and kids to the likes of me as the gold standard. I bought into the whole thing. I told myself he was one of my favorite athletes because he is SO GOOD at what he does. Yeah and foresooth. Apparently he is indeed that good at a lot of things but we were using different measuring sticks.
Now I can see more clearly. He was 'all that' providing he was winning and private. Now he is losing and doing pentance!! After the Augusta tournament he was extremely normal. Even a grouch. When he was interviewed afterwards, he had very little charm to display. His explanation was that he didn't win, so "don't expect me to be happy." OK, we will have to wait a while.
He stated earlier in his public apology that he thought doing whatever he wanted was his entitlement. Really. He had worked hard, gotten to the top of his field and deserved what he had going. I have no doubt he will rebound and again show his incredible skill and if he is lucky, he will be thought of again just as one of the greatest golfers of all time. But he is going to have to work at it. It is not an entitlement. The golfing skills will rebound quicker than the rest. Unbelievable as it may seem, a lot of people have worked that hard but never really made it. I think he has a right to be unhappy. His laundry aired to a few hundred million again today; just slightly more than would have watched him before his 'entitlement.'
I had planned to stop right here. But I have to beat this to death, it seems. It has bothered me a LOT lately. I wanted to ignore it but after that last commercial ran with his dad's voice running over it, it just won't die for me. I thought it was a real risk to film that anyway. That sponsor got their money's worth since they had everyone's attention again. But as close as Tiger was to his dad, it seemed to be a cheap shot. His father was self serving in my eyes anyway. He had this incredible kid with mad skills which he promoted very successfully all his life. He was on Johnny Carson show when he was just around four. Must have been very lucky to pull that off. Tiger never failed to glorify him.
But he taught him a lot of other things besides golf. Those things the kid learned well. He assured him that with his extreme success and wealth, he could have any woman or women he wanted and would not need to 'settle' like Dad did. That apple didn't fall very far from the tree. This person he settled for was Tiger's mother. You don't do that. It justified my anger. I really didn't care as much about his conduct but if he followed his dad's advice, who is to blame here? Both. Every time I hear one more of those tidbits, I am mad all over again. It is my very own entitlement. Mothers hang together. This gossip is just stuff some other journalists dug up and not by my having a long talk with Tiger. Gee, I thought I would feel better after all this typing. I don't; so don't expect me to be happy. I lost too. FORE!!!
Breast cancer is not NEWS. Ways to make it more tolerable IS.
CHARLAVAN BAKER HART has written a book called TITTATTS: LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER that could change the lives of so many victims. She knows. She is a survivor of advanced breast cancer.
After many surgeries and treatments, she had all the scars tattooed with flowers and butterflies. It worked like a miracle. Once she could no longer see the scars, the fight ended. She won and has been well for nine years. (and very COLORFUL.)
She is a seasoned author and columnist and approaches life with a smile and a bit of humor. There is nothing funny about cancer. A MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY isn’t a crowd pleaser but the book is. Her approach to it thru tears and fears will help a great many readers.
The fact that she had spent 20 years as an image consultant gave her the biggest challenge of her life and she met it head on.
She claims that looking better always makes you feel better. That needs to be shared.
One of the unique stories behind her healing was ‘leech therapy’ which was used to try and salvage a breast made from her own body. It failed but it made great theatre at the hospital. It is entertaining and informative reading. Her reconstruction doctor is famous as the originator and president of a charity group of doctors who perform operations for those in need and do it without compensation. He made a very generous endorsement of this book.
It is easy reading and is being applauded as a great help in the healing process by HEALING WITH A SMILE.
This book is just now being released and she is busy working on a follow-up, dealing with the different treatments for breast cancer. This one will be called THE LUMP and she shares what you can expect from the treatments like chemotherapy and estrogen deprivation.
Good stuff and easy reading. BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.
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