First Connection

Recently, at twilight, a deer appeared in my driveway. Silent as the emerging darkness, she stepped carefully onto the gravel. Behind her, a creamy froth of clouds smeared the horizon; crickets chirruped in celebration of the declining day. I watched as the doe slipped into the tall field grasses. After several minutes, I walked out [...]

Passover

Spring is putting on airs, choosing to arrive fashionably late. Each year our community celebrates its agricultural roots with Blossom Weekend. Normally, pear and apple trees, festooned with an array of white and pink blossoms, attract thousands of visitors. They arrive like bees, pollinating local merchants with disposable income. This year, nary a blossom presented [...]

Reading

Each month, I commute 60+ miles from Hood River to Portland, OR in order to attend a multiple myeloma support group hosted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Today’s meeting featured a speaker from my doctor’s oncology group, Northwest Cancer Specialists. The subject was an update on December’s annual conference of the American Society of [...]

IMF Patient & Family Seminar

Last Thursday I visited my oncologist. We reviewed the most recent lab tests. Things are good. My M-Spike holds at 0.1 g/dL and serum free light chain numbers are all within the reference range. My drug-free remission continues 21 months post transplant. On Friday I drove to Portland, OR to attend the International Myeloma Foundation’s [...]

Back to School

My wife and I spent Valentine’s weekend in Walla Walla, WA. There, we visited with our niece and nephew who attend Whitman College. Intermittent spring showers rinsed our car on the drives to and fro along I-84. South of the highway, high desert stretched flat and empty for as far as we could see. On [...]

Mystery

A blanket of overcast sky lies across the state of Oregon from November to March. Intermittently, the colorless clouds darken and rinse the northwest with showers. I continue with my six-mile walks but, in such a climate, it helps to also have sedentary activities. I love to read. In fact I’m an inveterate reader; I [...]

April Is The Cruelest Month

April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. T. S. Eliot The coming of April teases the gardener in me. I long to sink glove deep into the warming loam. Yet a fresh skiff of snow spoils the mood. Cheerless breezes [...]