Julie and Julia

Yesterday was Mike’s birthday.  He turned 51.  To celebrate, we drove to Portland, in the rain, checked into a hotel, ate BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches at the hotel for free, then watched Julie and Julia.   His pick.  But he was just being nice to me.  But he liked it!  And so did I.  Merryl Streep [...]

Active Stillness

Carmel Market Originally uploaded by dorkodog I have recently reconnected with a long-time friend. For nearly 15 years, we had shared many of the same experiences through church, Middle School and High School, and then college. He was an important person in my life and I counted him a friend. I believe he counted me [...]

The threat of cancer.

The oncology surgeon says it’s 60/40 in favor of cancer.  It’s not the odds I wanted, but it’s what he thinks.   It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling.  We have no certainty.  Just probability and odds and expert surmises.  We know for certain something is wrong; we know it’s size, it’s location, it’s presence. [...]

Advocating for advocacy

Patient advocacy is a hot topic these days.  Perhaps it’s getting so much airplay because of the Obama Health Care Reform plan.  Perhaps I’m just paying more attention because I’ve got my own troubles navigating the system.  This morning, NPR ran a story on Patient Advocacy  and one advocate is paying $15,000/year to get help to [...]

This I Believe

On Sunday mornings, NPR runs a series called This I Believe.  It’s a resurrection of a program created in1951 by Edward R. Murrow.   Young and old, famous and not, This I Believe is an international media project engaging men and women in sharing the core beliefs and values that shape their lives.   This is [...]