It was an easy week of shows – in fact I only had one. It was a new venue on a slow Wednesday night
and I was in jeopardy of playing to
only one – the bartender - when in walked some friends who were joined by more
friends. The evening was saved thanks to
these folks I affectionately think of as The God Squad - most of which sing and
play in bands inside and outside the church.
Good, talented and intelligent folk who appreciate a night of good music
yet come to my shows anyway ;p
I thought Wednesday was going to be my one-and-done for the
week when I received a text the next morning - seems that Brian (one of the ‘Squod’)
had lost his voice. I’d heard the rasp
the night before but now it was full blown laryngitis and he had a solo show
that evening at a local pub. The text,
in effect, said – “HELP!” Brian is not
just a musician but also a great supporter of independent music and frequently
hosts house concerts for these musicians – including me. He asked that I assist with the vocal part
of the show while he kept up the keyboard accompaniment. Of course, I said, “YES!”
We plucked, plunked and plowed our way through an evening
that included everything from Louis B Armstrong (he provided a perfect gravelly
basso for that one) to Janis Joplin to
Blackstreet’s, “No Diggity”. We had fun
and didn’t do too bad – if we say so ourselves. (I think the only one who may
have noticed any notable blunders was his wife.) Not bad for having played
together exactly once before and then, only two or three songs. Luckily, he and I have similar tastes in
genres; funky!
I don’t get many chances to jam with other musicians here in
the Quad Cities – partly because of my schedule and partly because I just
haven’t found the same kind of group of musicians like I had back home in Minneapolis. Thanks to Brian for giving me a chance to do
some jamming!
On Friday morning I performed my usual routine of having
blood drawn in prep for my chemo on Monday.
It’s important that my blood cell counts and other levels are acceptable
for treatment #3. That afternoon I got the call from the oncology team to okay
my treatment – only this time they said my test results were unacceptable to
receive chemo the following Monday so we had to reschedule for this
Friday. Seems one of my levels was too
low and the only thing that’ll bring it up is time…and perhaps, a couple good
night’s sleep.
I’m hoping that this won’t become a common occurrence. Prior to I was expected to be done by
Halloween but presently, I’m expected to have my last treatment the first week
of November. If I can keep my levels up
I can make sure this crap doesn’t interfere with my winter holiday plans. This means I need to continue eating well (no
sugar or alcohol and lots of anti-oxidants), exercising (I’ve joined the YMCA’s
LiveSTRONG program), taking my supplements (witchy-poo and otherwise) and
getting as much rest as possible (dial up the meditation tapes and Melatonin).
Chemo Treat #6 – Watch a Favorite Movie. I opted for something I hadn’t watched in a
very long time and even now enjoy listening to the soundtrack; Harry Nilsson’s,
The Point, this version narrated by Ringo Starr. I have to confess, it was fun to watch but we
may have taken a small nap…
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