January 2021
The Pandemic is Raging
I Still Have Cancer
Trump Will Be Gone By The End of The Month
The Vaccine Rollout Is Too Slow
PA/DE/MD
F- 1- PA
It's a new year and 2021 is going to be a great year. I will overcome my cancer. I am going to get vaccinated against the Covid virus and I will begin to travel again. I can hardly wait to get back in to life as I know it and enjoy it.
SA- 2- PA
I went looking for snow geese at Bombay Hook, Fowler Beach and Prime Hook and I found a small flock that was nice but not impressive enough. I usually see 100,000 of them at one time. Maybe there were 1,000 today.
The first brewery of the year, for me, is Fordham/Old Dominion. (1) I was here 9 years ago and it was nice to be back.
SU- 3- PA
I started the day with yet another MSK zoom call. These women are driving me crazy as they just don't have the skills to accomplish what they want. They want to host a 12 part series on domestic violence and they just aren't doing the work. And they down really understand that they are not doing the work.
Sharon wanted me to drive in to town and have dinner with her but I just didn't have the energy to get showered, get dressed, get moving and get in to town by 4 PM.
An audio tape of a conversation that Trump had with the Secretary of the State of Georgia was released to the public. Trump threatened the guy and begged the guy to find him 11,280 votes so that he could claim victory in the presidential race. Trump lies and bullies so much that he dense know how to behave normally in any circumstances.
M- 4- PA/DE
I had dinner with Jaye and Dom. They leave for 4 months to go to Florida and I hate when they leave. They are gone too long. And I miss them. So we got together one last time before they go.
TU- 5- PA
I had a meeting with my oncologist. She was pleased with my progress since my surgery. And I am now ready to start radiation. She gave me the name of a radiologist and I was able to schedule something fro tomorrow. I have really been impressed with the service I am receiving from Main Line Health. I am ready to get started with the next phrase of my battle against this cancer.
I watched Elizabeth is Missing on PBS and I loved it. Gwen Jackson plays a woman with Alzheimers and she is so believable.
W- 6- PA
I had a meeting with radiologist. I am going to have 6 treatments over a three week period. I can do this.
After my meeting, I had lunch with Sue and Tom. Tom is dying right before our eyes. He is jaundice and stooped over and beaten up by life. He has a blood cancer. But he is also spiking high fevers which are causing fevers and now, seizures. He is exhausted.
In the evening, I had dinner at Iron Hill Brewery (2) with Debbie. And of course, the Russian Imperial Ale is now on tap so all is good with the world. This is one of my favorite beers and one that I look forward to drinking every year.
Trump's Twitter account was suspended for at least 12 hours and the whole world is rejoicing. It was suspended because of his continuous efforts to encourage violence. Today, he held a rally right outside the white house and he encouraged thousands of people to storm the Capitol Building where Congress was certifying the electoral votes. Thousands of people stormed the building. Our legislators and their staff had to hide. People were chanting that they wanted to hang the VP. It was a shameful moment.
Tweet: Just when I think he can't stoop any lower, he proves me wrong yet again. Trump encouraged his cult to go to the Capital and let our legislators know how angry they were. For 2 hours, we had a coup attempt. The POTUS encouraged people to turn on our government. Let that sink in.
TH- 7- PA/DE/MD
I went to Lums Pond to see if any birds are on a migration trail around here and , of course, I found nothing which irritated me. So I went to the Bayheads brewery (3) in Chesapeake City for a flight. And I sat there with a slight annoyance that this brewery was not up and running when I used to live in this area.
F-8- PA
On Jan 8, 2021, at 9:10 AM, Diane Simon <dsimonhu72@gmail.com> wrote:
Do you think they get it yet? If not, what will it take? Now Congress knows how it feels to be attacked by a mob of white men and realize the law is not going to protect you! Can you imagine what would have happened if black people did that? I wish I could hear what is being said in their homes.
SA- 9- PA
I hung around here all day and I marvel at the fact that I can do nothing and then the day is suddenly over. I am listening to a podcast on the Unabomber. His brother turned him in. I don't think I could ever get to that point. My denial would be too strong.
SU- 10- PA
I had my regular phone call with Laden. Either something is wrong with her or she is getting tired of chatting with me. She seems to have lost her energy to connect with me. I don't know how to read her and I cant figure out how much longer this should go on.
I was on yet another zoom call with MSK. They are still so far behind in their efforts to schedule and plan for these webinars.
I had dinner with Sharon and Glenn. We had to eat early as we were not allowed to infer with Glenn's opportunity to watch the Steelers play football.
M- 11- PA
I woke up to the sound of the fire alarm. It took me a moment to distinguish the sound from my dream to my reality. So I got up, befuddled and lethargic. I got dressed, slowly and made my way to the front of the building. the fire trucks were already there by the time I arrived. And everyone was outside and happy to see one another. It was almost like a reunion amongst us as it had been months since we saw each other. Fortunately, it was a false alarm.
Tomorrow, I start my radiation treatment. Tomorrow, I go to the hospital to get burned and I cant wait to get started. I feel fortunate to have this level of treatment available to me.
Impeachment charges were filed against Trump. I hate that fucker and can't wait until he is out of office He is now the twice impeached president..
TU- 12- PA- Radiation Day #1
I had my first radiation treatment and it was effortless. Had I not heard the technician on the other side, making noise, I would not have known that anything was happening to me.
After my treatment I visited with Jimmy and Joann, I haven't seen them since February. So it was nice to just sit and chat with them for about an hour.
I made my way up to Fox Chase Cancer Center in NE Philly for a second opinion. I really liked this doctor. She concurs with my plan which is a great relief.
W-13- PA/NJ
Today was a perfect day to take a drive to Long Beach Island in search of some harlequin ducks. I saw photos of them on Sloane Housten's FB page so I thought I would go and find them. But to do so, I would have had to climb out on the jetties. And that just wasn't going to happen. I am too old. My knees are too weak and I have absolutely no agility.
Oyster Creek Brewery-(4) NJ. Of course, I had two IPAs, a coffee stout, a vanilla porter and a sour which wasn't too bad. I liked the vibe of this place. The bartender was engaging and eager fro me to like his beers. He mixed me up a sample of the coffee stout with a splash of the jalapeño beer.
Trump is impeached for a second time and it can't happen to a bigger asshole. I can not wait until he is gone forever,
TH- 14-PA
I had a zoom meeting with Sharon and others to address ways to increase interaction and hits on her Great Dames social media sites. Now I have to learn two more programs: Canva and Buffer.
I had dinner at the Social Club with Debbie. This is what I love about living in West Chester. It is just so easy to get up and go out and it is no big deal.
F- 15- PA- Radiation Day 2
I was up early for my radiation treatment. Already, I feel comfortable with the routine. And the embarrassment that goes with spreading my legs open to everyone is getting less and less. But I will be thankful when this is no longer part of my regular routine.
Afterwards, I treated myself to a big ass breakfast at IHop and I have to say that this is probably my last meal at this particular restaurant. It grossed me out with its worn out, ripped seat and bent fork and smelly water. I am finished with this place.
I hopped in my car and drove 1 1/2 hours to Middle Creek Wildlife Reserve. I was in pursuit of snow geese. My friend, Sloane, told me that I could find them here. But she forgot to tell me that they really didn't arrive until some time in February. I did see some and I got some other great photos so the moment was not a complete waste.
Afterwards, I went to the Black Forest Brewery (5) and St. Boniface Brewery (6) in Ephrata. I really didn't like the first place brewery. But the second one was more enjoyable.
On the way home, I listen to a podcast on the Waco, TX tragedy in 1993. I remembered the incident but I had forgotten the details. I cant get over how many cults there are in the USA. It always surprises me to learn how many people want to be told how to live their lives. I don want anyone to tell me how to live.
I didn't get home until after 7PM and I was tired so I took a little nap which is always a mistake for me. I think I spelt unit 11ish and then I was wide awake.
I started watching a documentary on Waco. There were some people who survived the raid. I thought all the adults had died. I will need to watch the second part tomorrow.
Saturday- 16th- PA
Today was a lazy ass day. I wonder if yesterday was too much activity for me in light of the fact that I have become a lethargic, fat ass sloth. Anyway, I slept well through the night and too much of the day.
I did have a phone call with Ladon and she seemed more interested in chatting with me. Maybe we should just speak once a week.
I watched the second part of the Waco documentary. People who survived the ordeal talked about their dedication to the leader of their cult. After 27 years, they still remain faithful to him and see themselves as the victims of a wrongful government. I don't know who to blame. But I have a hard time forgiving those parents who let their kids stay in the house and burn to death.
We have hit 396,000 COVID deaths in the USA. This situation is only getting worse.
Tweet: For the 1st time in 4 years, half of the tweets on my feed are filled with calmness, beauty and quiet. For the past 4 years, all of the tweets, on my feed, were various responses to Trump's stupid, dangerous, self-serving, mindless, childish, lying tweets. The healing has begun.
SU- 17- PA
Tension around the country is mounting as we prepare for Biden's inauguration on the 20th. I learned last night that Jameson has been called to DC to serve with the National Guard. He has been there almost a week already. There is so much potential for a deadly crisis to erupt there. It's as if we are all sitting on a bomb that is about to go off. At the moment we have more soldiers in DC than we have in Iraq and Afghanistan and we are at war with these two countries.
Trump is so irresponsible in his handling of this crisis he created. If he would just concede, it might be enough to quell much of the dissent. But as it stands now, he has convinced too big a group of people that the election was stolen from him and from them. Their anger is so irrational, that they may never recover. The fact that 50 governors, 50 Secretaries of State, 60 state and Federal judges, the SCOTUS, hundreds of county FEC directors and thousands of poll watchers have claimed no fraud, Trump continues to push this divisive lie. He is pure evil and I can hardly wait to be rid of him. He has stained our democracy so badly that we will probably never heal from him in my lifetime.
M- 18- PA
A woman is on the run because she broke in to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on January 6, and stole Peloski's laptop and tried to sell it to a Russian company. And this woman considers herself to be a Patriot of the USA. When she gets caught, she is going to be in a shitload of trouble. And I can't wait.
I wish my dad was still alive as I would love his take on Trump and the Republican love affair with Russia. For as long as I can remember, Russia was our enemy. Now it seems as if Putin has a compromised hold on too many of our Republican legislators. They seem so afraid of Putin and Trump. I wonder where their loyalties will be after Trump slithers away on Wednesday.
Trump won't come to Biden's inauguration ceremony. Instead, he is begging for a grand farewell ceremony at the nearby military base and the Defense Department more or less told him to fuck off. And as well they should. He has been known to call our soldiers "suckers" and "losers." And now, he wants them to step up and honor them when he has been nothing but cowardly. He cant leave soon enough.
I watched a movie, Narrowsburg, which I thought was a fictional satire. It sounded like a remake of The Music Man. A con artist comes to town and takes everyone's money so he can produce a movie. I thought the movie was funny. But it turns out that it is a true story. I am going to have to do more research on this story.
TU- 19- PA/DE- Radiation Day #3
I am half way through my treatment. The procedure is now routine for me. I just show up, get undress, hop on the stretcher and spread my legs. I have lost all shame and modesty. Everyone is getting a peek of me.
I found my 100,000 snow geese on Fowler Beach Road (DE) I pulled over and watched them with wonder for about 30 minutes. And in the midst of my excitement, two birders asked me if I saw the pink footed goose, a very rare find for this area. Of course, I didn't and now I feel as if I missed something big.
I stopped by the Mispillion River Brewery (7) - (DE) and enjoy all of my beers. But I think I am with a Trump crowd. They aren't getting the vaccination. They are sloppy with each other with their masks. And the guy at the other table has a t-shirt that proudly displays "Fuck Joe Biden, Stop the Steal." I had contemplated wearing my Trump tee shirt, written in Russian. At the moment, I am glad I didn't.
W- 20- PA
President Joseph R Biden is sworn in today and the whole world is breathing a sigh of releifie. I feel as if we have all escaped from an abusive relationship. That selfish fuck is finally out of the White House and it is such a relief. I watched his departure ceremony just to back sure he left. And he did and then Joe paraded in and it was wonderful. There was so much joy and aged will. He had a young poet laureate speak and she shook the world with her worlds.
We have our first female vice president, Kamala Harris. She is Jamaica and Indian and female.
Tweet: It is hard to be in isolation today as this moment deserves so much celebration.
Tweet: So did he leave his healthcare plan? Or his tax returns? Or the check from Mexico? Best wishes to President Biden and Vice President Harris.#TrumpFailedAmerica #PresidentBiden
TH-21- PA
I went looking for a brewery and found it in Chester but it wasn't open. It is so hard to support small business because it is just so damn hard form them to be open consistently. So i drove over to Aston and found the 2SP Brewery (8) to be open. I've been here before. I like their beers but I don't like their vibe. I don't have any interest in coming back here.
Tweet: OMG, I woke up today without any angst. I’m a little disoriented. #PresidentBiden
F- 22- PA- Radiation Day #4
Radiation continues to be effortless.
Sharon's webinar
lunch with KF
This Beautiful Fantastic
SA- 23- PA
A Walk to Detroit is a great, great movie. A fifteen year old kid decided that he didnt know enough about how other people lived. So he decided to walk 27 miles from his suburban environment to downtown Detroit. And he had his brother follow and film him. This kid is so genuine in his mission that the movie is admirable. It really shows the mind of a 15 year old, white boy in America. I loved the movie. The kid reminded me of just about every high school boy I ran in to during my 30 years in education. What a simplisisc and inisghtful movie.
In the afternoon, I went to Patricia's house to pick up my Carlino's gift card. Sharon sent her this gift card in November so that she could pick up a meal fro us during my recovery from surgery. The card was never spent and now Patricai wants me to take the card and use it. I want her to keep the card and buy herself something since she was the one who took care of me after my surgery.
SU- 24- PA
I went shopping at Carlino's gourmet market and what fun it was. I got lots of food that I would never buy because it is just too expensive. While I was shopping, I called Sue Descano to see what she wanted to eat and I took a great meal over to her house for dinner.
As Sue and I were sitting around, Tom called her. He has been in the hositpals for several days now and he is not improving. Sue had the phone on speaker and I could hear every word of the conversation. Tom's voice was filled with desperation. He is beaten up emotionally and physically.
I scheduled a covid vaccination appointment with Crozer Hospital. Actually, I have 4 appointments and none of them are within the guidelines.
M- 25- PA
I following up on my cancer claim ($10,000) and it appears as if my oncologist didn't send in the claim from. So I will have to stop there after my radiation treatment and figure out what is going on. Hopefully, it is already on its way and I can tie up this situation soon. I wonder if I am going to have to claim this cash as earned taxes? If i do, I will probably have to pay another $4000 in taxes and that will really piss me off.
My new beaded bracelets came in the mail today. Well, at least three of them did. One is still supposed to come in tonight and I have three more coming in a few weeks. So now, I think I have enough beaded bracelets.
The US Congress sent the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Trump is such a fucking, dangerous idiot. I hope the cowardly republicans do he right thing.
I watched Tidewater, a movie about a little girl who has drug junkie parents and she slips in to a fantasy world to cope. The lighting, the cinematography and the landscape were so beautiful that these things distracted me from the story line. I spent most of the time trying to capture photos from the screen because there were just some beautiful shots. I posted these photos up on Instagram.
I also watched a documentary on bone and tissue harvesting and crooks who engaged in illegal activities to get these donations. I have offered my body to medical research and/or donation. But, apparently, a dead body has a donor value of $200,000. I am going to make sure my family gets a price of that action.
It was supposed to snow tonight so Jimmy wanted me to spend the night at his house so that I would be closer to the hospital in the morning. I have radiation treatment. It hasn't started yet and I didn't go to Jimmy's and now I am worried that it will snow through the morning and interfere with my treatment.
We are now at 425,000+ COVID deaths. Over 25,500,000 Americans have contacted COVID. And it is only getting deadlier every day. And I am getting increasingly tired of this isolation.
TU- 26- PA- Radiation Day #5
There was no snow today even though everyone was worried about it. As a matter of fact, it was a nice day. It was cold, really cold but it wasn't grey.
The damn garage door is broken and I have to get to my radiation treatment. So I am stuck and in a panic. I had to borrow Debbie's car which I hated doing but I didn't want to miss a treatment.
On Facebook, I had a long discussion with Maureen Naylor, a Springfield parent. At one point, she offered me prayers and parmigiana. Somehow, it looks as if I am only getting the prayers.
At night, I watched a movie about a kid with autism and he is an artist. His work looks exactly like another artist I saw at the American Visual Arts Museum in Baltimore, MD. This artist also had autism.
W- 27- PA
I am determined to get a vaccination ASAP. However, I have put myself out there to so many places that I cant keep track of where I have an appointment. I have one for Saturday but after I signed up, I saw a statement that I had to be a DE resident. I am still going to go there in Saturday and just cry if I have to.
With very little energy, I went to a new brewery, right here, in West Chester, The Wrong Crowd Brewery (9). They opened up two months ago in the midst of a pandemic. Business is slow but they are not losing hope. All of my beers were delicious and this place has great potential to be a fun neighborhood hangout.
I watched a movie about the injustice of our cash bail system. After an hour, I had to stop watching it because it was so damn maddening. People are in jail because they cant afford bail and they have not even had their trial. This is yet another glaring example of a system that keeps the poor in a choke hold off poverty. And there are legislators who are opposed to a no bail system because too many people in the bail bond industry would lose their jobs. So the only solution is to keep potentially innocent people in jail. Our justice system is fucked up.
I had a long call with Nadia in Bangladesh. Sometimes, I think she just wants to chat with me. We talked for about an hour.
TH- 28- PA
I called my oncologist and no one knows what happened to the insurance claims form I dropped off on January 5. So now I have to start over on this claim. That's maddening.
I went to Troegs Brewery (10) in Hershey. I have always liked the beers that campout of this brewery. So I decided to take the 1 1/2 hour drive to sit here in this great place. I had five beers that were all delicious. As usual, I had a stout, two hazy IPAs and two IPAs. I liked them all and I would have enjoyed spending the afternoon here with friends. But the damn COVID virus prevents that. So I ordered my flight and a sandwich and left.
F- 29- PA- Radiation #6
It's my last day of radiation and I do not want to ring the bell. I am too superstitious. What if they didnt get all the cancer cells. I didn't want to jinx my efforts.
After my final treatment, I drove to Havertown and had lunch with Jimmy and Pete. I think Jimmy must have told Pete that he had to keep his mask on because of my cancer because that mask stayed on without complaint.
I am trying to find the vaccine and it is next to impossible to do so. This distribution effort has been one big cluster fuck.
My medical bills have arrived. Holy Shit, cancer is expensive. I have to meet with Tricia and figure out what I actually owe.
SA- 30- PA/DE
Today was a day of dismal failure. I was up and out of the house in pursuit of the COVID vaccine. I had an appointment in DE with a center that would only administer the test to DE residences but that didn't become obvious to me until I had applied for the vaccine and had been accepted. So I couldn't bring myself to surrender. I went there with the plan to show them all of my cancer documents and to cry but I've misplaced my documents and I dint cry and I didn't get the vaccine so I left with greta frustration.
I did catch up with Deirdre and we had a quick cup of coffee at the Starbucks. It was great to see her. She is so damn anxious to get married and get working on starting a family. It looks as if she will have a September wedding here with 50 people and then a wedding in Taiwan in September 2022 with Kevin's family. I told her that I am going to both weddings.
I then drove to Middletown, DE in search of the Volunteer Brewery but it appears as if it is under renovation at this time, even though the website indicated that it is open fro business. So then I quickly went tot he First State Brewery which was open but they were filled to capacity. Damn. I have to remember that i can only go to breweries on weekdays as they are not as busy at that time. Then i found the name of another brewery on concord Pike which is on the way home. So I attempted to go there but this is just their business address. There was no brewery to be had. So I gave up and went home.
SU- 31- PA
I started the day with an irritating call with the MSK group. They are planning these webinars and want things to happen but do not want to do the work. We have our first webinar next week and today, the woman, who is monitoring the event, cancelled on us. The others didn't see this as a big deal. They all thought they would try to find someone in the next couple fo days. OMG, I cant wait until this is over.
There was a blizzard brunch in the lounge today. We are all waiting for three days of snow, starting at noon. So management set up a grab and go brunch with champagne. It was nice and I grabbed the last three split bottle of sparking wine and called Debbie and she came to the lounge and hung out. Gina joined us later for a little bit and it felt like the old days, before COVID, when we could all hang together.
I watched a great documentary, Lemon, the story of Lemon Anderson, a three time convicted felony who is now a poet and actor. Spike Lee picked him and got his one-man show on Broadway. I would love to see it some day.
We finish this month with 441,000 Covid deaths in the USA. WOW!!!
Highlights of the Month
- I started and completed a radiation series to eradicate my cancer;
- Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the USA;
- I got to see my 100,000 snow geese;
- Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended;
- I visited 10 breweries this month which is a new monthly PR.
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