Thursday, July 08, 2004

Things can only get better, right Howard Jones?

So last week my dad went in for a check-up and some scans to see how his cancer was doing. Our hope was that it was regressing or staying in check but our hopes were not to be met. The cancer being treated by the current chemo was in check, but other cancers had started sprouting up elsewhere. The doc told us we could either quit and try to make my dad comfortable in the roughly 4-6 months left or we could look into the idea of any available experimental treatments at the University of Chicago or we could just keep up with the current chemo and hope that it lengthened his life a bit more.

Well, obviously, we opted to look into O of C’s clinical trials and lo and behold they had one that fit his profile! The chances are still not great but at least I have hope that my dad will be around for a while longer…and there is always room for miracles, right?

All this has got me thinking about my dad and what kind of person he is. On one hand I’m not sure he’s always been a great husband since he’s human and we all act kinda dumb from time to time. What I do know is that he’s always been a great father. He’s always been there when I need him, he’s always done whatever it took to put food on the table (even if it meant going from being the Vice –President of a company to loading trucks on a dock just to pay the bills) and he’s always let me know that no matter how much I screw up he still loves me. Heck, he even dealt with seeing his son in an variety of dresses, make-up, masks, hair-colors, piercings, tattoos and all the other crazy stuff that goes with having a son as an artist/writer musician. Keep in mind he dealt with most of this in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s before every kid in every suburban high school was looking that way and I think you’ll begin to see what patient and understanding people both my parents are. I guess that’s why I get so angry and then sad and then angry and then sad about the prospect of him not being around to see my try to do the good job he did with my own kids (whenever that time comes.)

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update so those of you who read this and actually know my dad have some idea what’s going on now. Let’s just say I’m feeling a lot more optimistic than I was a week ago!

Moving moving moving.

Here's just one of the reasons I was not looking forward to moving:



That’s only a taste of all the books, CDs, trinkets, toys and other assorted crap that has to be moved from point A to point B this Saturday. The good news is that almost all of the packing is done – and was done by Monday – so I think this whole thing will go rather smoothly. I just hope my piano fits in the basement door at the house we’re moving into or there’s going to be quite the argument between Photogal and I over whether the thing goes upstairs (where I want it) or in the garbage (where she wants it.) I am really looking forward to setting my drum up in the basement and playing whenever I feel like it though…

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