The Best Most Wonderful Thing

Tonight is New Year's, a time for celebration.

My cousin Liz got married tonight. Even more of a reason to celebrate.

Nearly my whole extended family on my mother's side was there. My mother has four children and we were there in perfect attendence. My mother has four brothers and between them I have 13 first cousins and 3 step-cousins....and from there, in-laws and second cousins.

But there is one who is never there. Not every marriage that ends follows the model John Miller and I set of being friends after the divorce.

We rarely spoke of the missing one. To do so would hurt our uncle, my mother told us. But when we did, Mama Kelley told us not to worry.....when she was older, she would come looking for us. We waited for her to turn 18 or 20. When she didn't come, Mama told us that she would come when she had a child because that makes people reflective on their own roots. When Mama Kelley passed away - it will be 11 years on January 28th - I remember thinking how badly I felt for my missing cousin. She would never know Mama Kelley. I can't even express to you what a loss that is. Mama Kelley was the bomb. She was a riot. She was charming and witty and always knew what to do. And what to say. One of my favorite stories was of Mama Kelley talking to her cousin who was in the dumps becauses his leg had just been amputated. Mama said "Well you have another one." then they both laughed so hard and he told her "Grace, I am so happy I came to see you!" She was just what he needed. To this day, that story can make all of us crack up because that was who she was. Just the right thing and everyone wanted to be near her.

My mother's side gets together for all the standards....weddings, showers, christenings, wakes and funerals. But we also meet every December for Christmas and every summer for 4th of July. My mother and her brothers get together for dinner once a month. Most Fridays, my mother and father have lunch with her older brother, Frank and his wife. My Uncle Walter lives right behind our parents house.

So many happy gatherings. Not everyone makes every party, but we all try. We all get along and are happy to see each other.

But not one of these things happen that I don't think of the one who is missing.

Finally, her sister made a point of finding her. We were so happy and excited. When would we all get to see her? We were told not to ask. It would happen as she and her father wanted. Just wait.

So we waited.

And tonight, for her sister's wedding........she was there.

Happy New Year!

I getting ready to head out to a big Kelley family wedding.

With this crowd a good time is ensured.

I am showered....and now I'm napping. LOL! My father has arranged hotel rooms for all of us across from the wedding venue. I will likely nap there, too.

I hope your night goes as well as mine.

Thank you for all the nice comments in the post below. Good news is never so much fun as when you share it with others. You have all proven that point and tonight will be another round of that as I tell my cousins and aunts and uncles.

Bone Marrow Biopsy Results....Are You Ready?

So last Wednesday was my second bone marrow biopsy. The first one, to confirm my diagnosis in July of 2008, was 70%. Seven of every ten cells were cancerous.

At one point I was really sweating this second bone marrow biopsy because of it's impact on having the stem cell transplant. Not everyone is qualified for STC. Every doctor has a "threshold" that you must meet. I had heard of one doctor whose threshold was 5%. I was beside myself! What were the odds of dropping from 70% to 5% or less? If I had endured these six cycles of Revlimid/Velcade/Dex only to be told that I was not qualified for STC, I would have lost my mind!!!

When I voiced these fears to Denise, the transplant coordinator, she told me that Dr. Miller's threshold was 20%. Also, failing to meet it didn't rule you out, it just delayed it until you did two or more additional chemo cycles.

Well, 20% or less seemed much more doable. And failure just meant more chemo - which would blow, but I could do it. As much as I whine and moan, I actually do know they are saving my life.

Today, Kate gave me my results (a week earlier than the 2008 results were revealed)....

Less than 1%.

It is the best possible position from which to have a stem cell transplant.

They are very excited.

Mark Antony? Really?

He's the one that women are drawn to? Well not me.

So I have a million things I am supposed to read, but I am indulging in this great guilty pleasure "Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century". This is the book Kanani sent me. I am a fan of Elizabeth Taylor, but I must confess.....I never paid much attention to him. Mama Kelley was an Taylor fan too, so I think that's where I got it.

Taylor and Burton met on the set of "Cleopatra" in 1963. So I watched it yesterday. It's four hours long. Basically the first two hours she is with Caesar (Rex Harrison) and the second two hours Mark Antony (Burton).

So the first two hours, I like. Of course. The film is lavish and she is beautiful. Taylor/Cleopatra wants....pursues....and gets Caesar. It all makes perfect sense to me.

Then I stop the movie and have lunch with my mother. After lunch, I read a little, do some stuff (very little stuff, trust me). Then I go back to the movie. Caesar is assassinated, it's no surprise. I know the basic history.

Now it's time for the big romance. Both historically and on the set.

What. A. Disappointment!

Mark Antony is whining, self pitying, and when the big battle happens.....he is drunk, pigheaded and less than devoted to his men.

When he leaves the Battle of Actium, which I must confess, I was not familiar with, I was horrified. I don't know how accurate the movie is, but history confirms he fled the battlefield. From what I have read, he deserted his forces.

The movie wants us to see this as some sort of devotion to Cleopatra and true love.

Good Heavens.....I was ill! Who wants a man who would desert his post? Abandon his principles? A man who let his troops down?

This is the same bewilderment I feel about the Abdication of Edward VIII. At least in the new movie ("The King's Speech" two thumbs up....GO), Edward is protrayed like the ass I consider him to have been.

Anyway, I nearly shut the movie off at that point. How did anyone talk Burton into accepting this role?

Bagged!

So in the post below, I write about how I "stealth shovelled".

This morning my father was out shovelling and came in....not a word about anything being unusual.

At one point this afternoon one of the neighbors came and shovelled. My mother commented on it. She said it happens so often she doesn't even know which neighbor it is.

I think "I got away with it!"

Then this evening we are watching Jeopardy....I was creamed...but in my defense...a category on "Elvis"? A category on "Nebraska"? Really? That's not my fault. (Are you there baby?)

Anyway, I say something about Frankie always shoveling me and I haven't shoveled in forever.

"But your father said you shoveled last night." Blink, blink. I was frozen and only my eyelids worked. I burst out laughing.

"How did he know? I thought I got away with it? I waited for him to be asleep?"

She had that oh-you-silly-girl smile/look on her face "Even when your father is asleep he is awake. He even told me what time you did it and when you went to bed."

I listed all my stealth moves. I told her that my PJs got wet at the bottom and were sliding off. She laughed and just shook her head.

Later I went up to load the dryer, he was watching the Bs. "Do you know I was trying sooooo hard to be as quiet as a mouse last night?"

"Yeah. I know."

Yeah...That Was Probably Stupid....

I am just in from shoveling. Don't ask me how many inches, you know have no sense of measurement. An inch? Two? A foot? A cup? I don't know.

But the guilt was eating away at me. When I lived in the Nook I would have let it build into a mountain. What did I care? Eventually Frankie or one of his posse would have come along and taken care of it. Or at best, I would have shoveled the smallest possible path so I could get to work knowing it would be taken care of by the time I got home.

But I am not in the Nook. And my Dad, while completely amazing, is 76.

I did a pretty good job of it. The worst part is the it looked like a dusting from inside the house. I thought I would be out and back in quickly.....so I didn't put on a hat. LOL! My hair is soaked! And considering how much has fallen out...that is still a lot of hair.

What actually drove me back inside was the fact that my pajama pants started to soak up snow and slide off. It's hard to shovel and yank your pants up at the same time.

Not to mention being as quiet as a mouse (if a mouse shovelled snow). I kept thinking that at any minute the back door would open and I would hear an exasperated "What is wrong with you! Get back in this house this instant!"

But I got away with it! I did the back and front walk and the sidewalk. I had a few giggles when I realized that I had shoveled a path all the way to Feeney's house. When we were little, Grace and I would do our house and next door because Mrs. Doherty was older and alone. I don't recall being asked and we didn't do her inside her gate. Just the sidewalk in front of her house all the way up to the Feeney's. But of course now that house is owned by a young couple in their 30s, so......I laughed and backtracked.

It was just as pleasant as when I was young. Sometimes when I was in my teens I would shovel all the way up to BunkerHill Street. Something about the stillness and being alone at night outside.

Now I am just waiting for my coat to dry enough to put back in the closet, then it's off to bed.

At least I can say I did more than shower today.

Merry Christmas!

I am here with my family.

Dinner is at 1300 hours says the former QM2 from DDE-859

It's not the best day, but it's far from the worst.

Last night was Christmas Eve at Grace's and Dave made a ham that was FABULOUS!

My sons will be here soon.

Jen says our cousin Chrissie is coming by after dinner. Chrissie is toooooo much fun!

I hope everyone who stops by here has a great day and if you are just a fraction as happy as I am, you are lucky.

The Highlight Of My Day!

UPDATE: It got better, I received this book from Kanani. What goes better with chocolates than a book and vice versa. After the party at Grace's house I lounged on the love seat and read about "Liz & Dick" - thanks to Mama Kelley, I have always been fascinated by them - and let delicious chocolate melt in my mouth. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Sherri, they are delicious...and my mother like the one she picked too!

Today has been a slow day for me. So far, none of the things I planned have worked out. Which left me sitting right there when the postman delivered these.

Brilliant!

Celebrating The End of Poking & Prodding

'cause it wasn't the fun kind of poking and prodding...........

Today was the last test over at Tufts/NEMC. It was an hour long MRI. Except for having to will away a charlie horse in my foot for the last 15 minutes, it was fine.

Afterwards, I headed over to Kendall Square and saw "The King's Speech". I loved it and highly recommend it. It was a great way to end the day.

Plus the day started off well. I met up with my niece Genevieve and her friend Angeline for dim sum at Empire Garden. It was good company and an interesting first try.....but I think 1:45 pm was too late to show up there. Not everyone came over with stuff. Although I like the beef in the long noodle-like covering. I wanted to try sticky rice and that wasn't offered. We are going to give it another shot at some point, but in the morning since Angeline says dim sum is for breakfast.

This Overbooking Isn't Any Fun!

Usually I seize the time between chemo cycles and try to do something fun. I am cognizant of my limitations and I plan accordingly. I do some stuff, then I factor in rest time.

But this week has been too much work and not enough rest....and no fun!!

Monday - drive to NEMC for dentist, vascular access check and meeting with the social worker, then Kingston in the snow, then making my way home on the T
Tuesday-up at 0630 and taking the T to NEMC for X-rays, EEG, EKG, blood work (13 vials) and a PFT, then the T home
Wednesday-bone marrow biopsy
Thursday - MRI - and finally something fun! Before the MRI my niece Gen and her friends are meeting me for dim-sum at Empire Gardens in Chinatown.

I had wanted to go see "The King's Speech" on Monday night. It opens Christmas Day, but hey, it's Boston, there were sneak preview showings at Kendall Square. But Monday didn't work for everyone...then Tuesday didn't.....then Grace tried to convince me to wait for next week. But I hate crowded theaters. If I wait until school vacation and wide release they will want to go to a mainstream theater. I want my sneak preview at Kendall Square!!! I also want to see "Bhutto" & "The Tempest"

Friday is Christmas Eve Day and I was hoping to go into work and let the girls leave early....but the weather forecast does not look promising.

What you don't see in this list is a down day.

Que My Marine.....It's not my fault!

Stolen From The Sniper

He has a bunch over at his place in a post titled "Some Hump Day Demotivation" and they are funny....but this was my fav.

This Was The Longest Day Evah!!

But I am safe and sound at home now.

My Dad is psychic! I walked in the door and he said "Want some hot cocoa?" How did he know?

OK, so the dentist thing. Two fillings and a cleaning before mid-January and they will sign off on me. The irony? I need the fillings because while in chemo I clench my teeth in my sleep and cracked the two teeth, which caused me to lose the fillings. The people in the Dental Building at Tufts are very nice and patient. But it was a bummer to get scripts to deal with the mouth sores they assure me are coming and the dry mouth chemo has caused.

On the "vascular access check"....I failed. I will have to have a line inserted. I keep asking why they are so stressed about it. I know it's not the ideal, but on the bright side....I will be able to go to the bathroom by myself. If you do stem cell collection the way they want, you are stuck for five hours with both arms outstretched. Denise (my transplant coordinator) said it means your arms get tired, you can't feed yourself and you have to use a bed pan. So now that they have said I can't do that.....I can't say I am all that bummed out.

The last appointment was the social worker. Apparently I am just sane enough for her to sign off on this. Seriously, she told me that she is worried that someone as self sufficient now has to give over so much control. I told her it might be a problem, but it's my parents that are taking care of me so it's ok.

She asked questions about family and friends and mentioned that she looks forward to meeting my sons. I told her that was unlikely. I explained that very few people will be allowed to visit. So.....Judith is worried about that. I told her she could relax, I have a very active online life and I will never be bored or lonely as long as I have the laptop......right?

I just see no need to subject my family and friends, in particular my sons to my pain and suffering. So she said "Well, it's not carved in stone." I let it go at that.

Finally, I was free. It was an hour later than planned, but I headed off to meet up with Tom. It was the dumbest mistake I have made in a while. The driving was horrific!!!

Then I did this funny thing. I was hungry. Because the dentist was first, I had no breakfast. They put some fluoride goo on my teeth and asked that I not eat for an hour. So even though I had time and money. No food. By the time I was driving south on route 3 I was STARVING! So I bought a bagel and a tea at exit 14. But the driving was so bad I stuffed that bagel in my bag.

Later when I was in Walmart, I grabbed some cookies. Even though I was sitting for 20 minutes waiting for the train, I didn't have one. I also forgot about them on the train. My stomach was growling loud enough to wake the dead.

Finally, when I got to South Station, I grabbed a sandwich. But I didn't want to take the time to eat it, because the train was 20 minutes late getting in and I wanted to get to my parents before they started to worry.

By the time I sat down with my sandwich and my hot cocoa, I was shaky, lol.
I love Au bon Pain's Caprese sandwich. I was too tired to eat more than half.

Anybody want a cookie? How about the apple strudel or the pretzel I also acquired because I was hungry...but didn't eat.

Anyway, it starts all over tomorrow with X-rays and PFTs and EKGs. But you won't hear me whining! This beats infusion by a country mile!

Twas A Night In December

OK, I want you to watch this video, but I am not going to embed it here. I want hits on the YouTube site.

"Twas A night in December"

This video reflects the participation of more than 40 commands worldwide.

Service members from each of the services, stationed everywhere from Afghanistan to Antarctica, helped make "Twas a Night in December," a variation of the popular holiday story rewritten with a military twist. Country music singer and active military supporter Toby Keith introduces our holiday video.

It's less than five minutes long. You will have a smile on your face afterwards.

Click the link and also be sure to "like" it. Send it to your friends, post it on your Facebook, Twitter it.

Right now it's had 12, 706 hits. I want a MUCH bigger number! UPDATE - 17,691 as of 0825 Saturday. That's good, we can do better. 24,793 as of 2300 Monday. 42,476 as of 1700 on Christmas Day. Come on, let's double this by New Year's!

The great and powerful goddess of the Naval blogoshpere commands it!!!

Sometimes When You Are On A Roll....

.....you roll right off.

I am so excited about getting out of infusion early that I am pushing it.

Wednesday went really well and I am really happy. How I feel lately kinda reminds me of "nesting" at the end of my pregnancies. I am sure it is just some subconscious way of trying to gain control over my life.

I missed the commuter rail on Wednesday, but Tom just came and got me at Braintree. He rearranged the storage facility and next thing you know.....everything except my bed was inside. I don't know what I am going to do about the bed. But that's minor.

Tom had something to do at noon and I dropped him off pretty darn close to that.

Trish and I saw "Tangled", it was cute, the popcorn was uber fresh because it was the first show of the day and I had plenty of M&Ms. CVS is running a sale, 2 bags for $5, so they were in my bag. I got some last week and my Dad yelled at me for buying more. So, I threw Trish under the bus and said she bought them and left them in my bag.....sorry Trish.

Then I went into work and started working on my desk. Just before I left I gave Nic the good monitor because....I wasn't going to use it. And now I have stuff from the house. Plus my work keyboard was so worn you couldn't see the letters. People were always asking how I used it. I told them that I knew where the letters were, duh! And if they beefed I told them "Well, stay away from my desk." So Nic helped me straighten out all the stray cords and hook up the new monitor and keyboard. I vacuumed. I was breathless, Bette told me it was stupid to exert myself. But again, there is something that is really making me feel good about getting things in order.

I ran into two of Frankie's friends and they talked about missing me and I miss them and I got a little veklempt. It's a funny thing about Frankie's friends....for the most part they are motherless. Two of them, their mothers passed away from illness; another has a problem that keeps her away; another of the boys live with his Dad and I have never heard mention of the mother. I am sure that is part of why they feel the way they do about me....I'm the last one left. They must have called Frankie because I got this series of text messages about how much he loved me and how sorry he was that things were the way they are. I am so lucky to have the sons I have....and their friends.

Anyway, then the whole gang went to TGI Fridays and had apps and drinks. I stayed until I could feel the pain and tingling climbing up my legs and my tongue got numb. The drive back to Boston was pretty was easy.

So all in all, Wednesday was a great success!

On Thursday I wanted to go see my Aunt Teresa. She is travelling to Vegas to be with my cousin Jess over the holidays and by the time she comes back, I will not be visiting people. So on the way to Wilmington, I got off in Stoneham to get some Italian cookies at Colarusso's. Mmmmm! I also go a cannoli for my Dad and a Neapolitan for my mother (and a half moon, in case she wasn't in the mood for the neapolitan). I could camp out in Colarusso's!

We had a very nice visit and I got to see my cousins Kathy and MaryKate as well. My brother Frank showed and we all had lots of laughs. It went just as I wanted.

On the way back to Charlestown I had such a longing for chicken fingers. My aunt loves Chinese food and she and my brother were comparing their favorite local places. The conversation turned to Chinese food at least 3 times! So I called my friend T. "I am driving down 93 back to Charlestown, where can I get good chicken fingers?"

He told me, Speedy Wong's, but it wasn't called that anymore. I was surprised. I mean, Speedy Wong's was ok and there are great Charlestown/Speedy Wong's stories. But great chicken fingers? Really. He said they really were. So I stopped by and it was very clean and very busy and the "Wong" part for the sign outside was blanked out with something. They offered small servings - something I don't see many places doing anymore, so I got some noodles and chicken chow mien too.

Fabulous! More astonishing, my mother tried and loved the chicken chow mien. And she is ridiculously picky when it comes to that.

I topped that off with the last three episodes of "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO.

So, this morning? When the alarm went off? Paying the price....lol. I am nearly numb and what isn't numb hurts. Helloooooo pain pills!

Oh well, I am still happy with the two good days and better days are coming soon. I have just a little Revlimid left to go.

And I will be perfectly upfront here. I plan on "overbooking". I am going to push like this every chance I get.

OK, You Won't See Much Of Me Today

...unless you are stalking me. If so, please feel free to approach and pay homage with M&Ms.

I was up at 7 am. I am showered and all my dry skin has 2 inches of cream on it. My hair was like seaweed in the bathtub drain. I hope they figure this out soon.

Anyway, I am taking the 9 am commuter rail to Kingston. Tommy and I are going to work a little on the storage facility. I still have a few possessions out and about and I want things settled. I want to know that when I begin this nonsense in mid-January that things are in order.

I figure there will be no helping myself between then and about April. It will be just me and the laptop laying around.

Tom is going to have the van. So that will be set, no worrying about storage or parking and it will get good use.

Frankie and I have a plan.

So come the middle of January, I can just drift.

After doing something productive, I have allowed my friend Trish to talk me into going to see "Tangled". I am not one for cartoons, but she asked, so..... On the bright side, there will be popcorn and M&Ms and Coke. I know I said lots of water on Monday and there has been and there will be more, even today. But geez, gimme a break, it's a movie.

I will see Frankie at some point today. And then cap it off with dinner with everyone from work. We usually have a party at work, I don't know what changed, but they have decided to meet at a restaurant.

So...see you all tomorrow. Tomorrow might be a big sleeping day.

Stop!

So I got up at 9 am after a really good night's sleep - thanks to the Favorite Naval Consort's bedtime story (no, he does not read to me from Alfred Thayer Mahan) and happy news and M&Ms and various pharmaceuticals enhancements, lol.

I made my bed, cleaned/sorted some stuff. Made two important phone calls.

Then I decided to take a bath. The main bathroom is on the second floor and my Dad has this little office right outside. There is a computer and a stereo. He plays computer games, probably part of why he is so sharp at 76. He plans out his day. And he plays music. It's the usually what you would expect....Sinatra, etc. So he wasn't there, but the music was playing. I am enjoying a nice relaxing bath. And on comes.....

...and I sink lower in the tub and close my eyes......

.....and then.....

My Dad walks somewhere nearby singing along in his best Barry White baritone. I said it was his best...I didn't say it was good.

I am soooooo disturbed.

Celebrating My Early Release!

I have been drinking lots and lots of water. And foods that are high in potassium and low in sodium. Actually making the effort to be good. But not tonight!

There was pizza from Jenny's! Not onion or garlic....but let's be realistic, this is my father's house. It was accompanied by chips and Coke and......

M&Ms!!!!!

I promise there will be lots of water tomorrow.

My father saw the bag of M&Ms "Did you steal them from my bag? I am rationing your mother?" This is a big joke because my mother eats like a bird, as they say.

Then I relay my good news which is actually more than I told you in the post below. There is a small chance that my fatigue and hair loss can be temporarily reversed. It will definitely fall out when I take the Cytoxan in January. But it is unusual to lose hair on Velcade. Perhaps it is related to my thyroid. I have fatigue and hair loss I was attributing to Velcade and overly dry skin I was attributing to Lasix. But Kate turns the Rubik's Cube and says, that fatigue, hair loss and dry skin can by related to thyroid problems. They are testing my blood.

My father asks why I want them to reverse it.....don't I want to be just like him? LOL! When I was young he used to tease me that early gray ran in my mother's family and early baldness ran in his....if I was lucky, I'd get both!! Hahaha! I started graying at 16 (very helpful at 17 when sneaking into bars. no one cards the gray haired girl). But it wasn't so funny when I was pregnant with Frankie because my hair started falling out. Two big patches, one on each temple. I almost lost my mind. But then he was born and the hair grew back. That gave my father a lot of laughs.

I really would like to hang onto my hair at least through New Year's and my cousin Liz' wedding!

Now it's off to bed.....10 mg Revlimid, 1 mg Ativan, 10 mg oxycodone, a baby aspirin. With a big glass of water.

I really feel like I will have a good day tomorrow and get something accomplished.

You know what's awesome about blogging? You can do it with a mouth full of M&Ms!

Poor Kate!

So I get here to Tufts/NEMC and I'm all "wah" that the valet was closed because I am so fatigued. But I "stalk the block" and get a good parking space.

It's just as crowded up here in infusion and there is no chair for me. They pull me in some little meeting room to put in my IV and draw my blood....then it's "catch and release" since nothing can happen for an hour. I go get a cup of tea, make phone calls, fool around online, etc.

Then a chair opens up and Kathleen tells me that today is pomidrinate. That's then one that takes two hours......so.....it was a good thing that I didn't get valet, since they close at 4 pm. Kathleen starts the steroid (20 minutes) an I ask her to page Kate, my nurse practitioner. Kathleen says she already has. LOL! Some things happen before I even think of them.

Kate comes in and I ask if she's ready for my problems and whiny weekend story. Kathleen comes in to administer the Velcade and start the pomidrinate. Kate uses this opportunity to step back into the hall and gets me two tootsie rolls. Very smart!

We talk about my bald spot, my IV site bruise, my leg/ankle/hip pain. I ask if I am her most difficult patient. She says I am challenging, but that's a compliment. She thought my story wasn't that bad. She was afraid I was backing out of the transplant. Like I could get away with that!

Kate decides we will bring Dr. Miller into this conversation. He holds my right leg, which is the one that hurts today and moves his thumb up my shin. It hurts. He is not pushing really, but it hurts. It aches with no touch. but his thumb hurts.

This is likely peripheral neuropathy from the Velcade. since the velcade has produced such great results in getting my IgA number, they decide to SKIP THE LAST INFUSION!!!!

M&Ms all around!

When I leave here shortly, no more IV chemo until at least mid-January. I still have to take the Revlimid until sunday night. You know I asked. I was offered a gift....I asked for two!

I Have To Make Some Cookies

Last night I was listening to Pundit Review radio on WRKO when I hear myself getting called out. The host, my friend Kevin Whelan is talking about troop support and he mentions my blog. Thanks! And his producer, Rob jumped right on the cookie issue. I really have to get on this. They are such good eggs and every show is fun and gives a well deserved nod to our military. My friend Rob needs these cookies to give him strength for the hard work of keeping Kevin in line and playing cool bumper music.

So last night Kevin threw open the lines and asked people to call in an give a shout-out to troop supporters. I called in with this local story -

iPods for Veterans Continues Work Into New Year
Stepping off a 10 and-a-half-hour bus-ride from Washington, D.C. at 2:00 a.m. would make anyone more than exhausted; but five, very dedicated, men who help make up the iPods for Veterans group could not have been in higher spirits this last Tuesday.

"There's nothing like this," said U.S. Air Force veteran Paul Cardello, organizer of the trip and co-host of WCTV's Sports Forum. "There's nothing better than this."

Cardello and his co-host Wayne Fox, camera and sound guys Ron Buccheri and Don Leard, and Post Commander of the Billerica Veterans of Foreign Wars John Parker spent their entire Thanksgiving weekend in the nation's capital handing out iPod Shuffles and 300 magazines to wounded veterans – and they can't wait to do it again this Saturday.

This Saturday, the same group will be visiting Bedford VA Medical Center to hand out the remaining 23 of 82 iPod Shuffles they bought with donated funds.

A number of businesses and people in Wilmington helped to make this second trip down to Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., possible. Sunrise Market sold patriotic cookies and matched the $50 raised for a grand total of $100 for the cause. Rocco's Restaurant also helped raise funds for the group by matching the money in the donation jar at their bar for a total donated amount of $150. But the two big players in this donation-drive were Textron Systems that donated $1000 and Mary Lou and Dick Looney, who gave $1500 of their own money.

Paul Cardello lives in Wilmington, Massachusetts and is a great example of local troop support.

H/T to my cousin Gregg who told me about this great story. He knew all the details, Paul Cardello is his father-in-law!

Could I Sleep Any More???

My mother and I were bookends at the kitchen table for dinner. Slow moving. Slow eating. I couldn't finish, neither did she. My Dad made us baked stuffed chicken breasts, baked potatoes.....giant baked potatoes, we could have split one and had some left. He's a blur of activity.

Earlier, he had called up to me...."Diane, what are you doing today?" I said there was nothing. "Ok, 'cause everything after 2:30 is Patriot's time!"

Kick-off was 4:15....but there are pre-game activities. Sure enough, he had everything done by 2:30.
~~~~~~
BTW, for all my grousing - and My Marine pointed out today that I am "an exceptional grouser" - about the flat tire & the $337.00.....I lucked out. It happened right at exit 8 and I wasn't alone and someone came to get us. It could have happened during my road trip far from home & that would have been awful.
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I am listening to @punditreview & @punproducer & @McQandO on Pundit Review Radio on WRKO. They are talking national politics for political junkies like me.