Another
CARE package has arrived at the Carr household.
I could have told you who sent it
from the address alone: the package was
sent to the attention of “Forrest Carr
News Director and Brother.” Of course, I’m
not news director to anyone to whom I’m actually also a
brother, except in spirit only. That
narrowed the choice of senders down considerably. I won’t embarasss him here by telling you who
it is, but suffice it to say that when I worked with him in Florida TV news, we had a very close and productive
relationship.
The
package itself shows the man is hip to my current needs. It’s stuffed to the rims with candy. As regular readers to this blog know, my
sweet taste buds are about the only ones that have survived chemo and radiation
and painkillers and all the other indignities they heap on you in the name of
trying to eradicate cancer from your body.
I can taste most meat but very blandly.
But Milky Ways, Snickers, M&M’s, Butterfingers, Kit-Kats, and you
name what else are completely undiminished in their enjoyment.
They’ve
also helped me reach my weight goals. My
doctor was very worried about my weight for a while there. I was under strict orders to eat as much as I could and to take on the
pounds. Toward this end I was prescribed
an appetite enhancing steroid, the theory being that every ounce of weight you
take on is a victory against cancer, which wants to take it away from you.
Well,
I’m here to tell you that the candy and
steroids tactic have done the trick. I
now weigh more than I ever have before in my life. In fact, I intend to cut down. But not all at once.
With
the package came some nourishment for the soul as well, a pamphlet entitled Keep Calm and Trust God by Jake and
Keith Provance. Interestingly, it’s about the same size
and word count as my fourth book, My
Lifetime of Weird Coincidences and Strange Happenings, and even touches on
some of the same themes, particularly the need to grasp every moment, hold it
to your breast and cherish it like it may be your last. Because it well might be.
Speaking
of which, I got my statement back from Amazon and I have to say “thank you” to
the many people who’ve been buying my books lately. It’s much, much appreciated.
Medically,
there’s not much else to report. Some
days I think I’m losing ground in the fight against rising pain levels; other
days, I’m not so sure. Yesterday I was
feeling so bad that I decided to put my head down and go back to sleep for a
while. I slept until 4pm in the
afternoon. I sort of hate doing that but
I did get up feeling refreshed and pain-free.
Those are good feelings. But I
have not slept so late in decades. I
have a feeling it won’t be the last time I do that.
So
once again tonight I find myself in the position of publicly thanking someone
for reaching out to me. To my Florida
brother-in-arms and his lovely bride, let me extend heartfelt thanks and let you
know that your words do mean the world to me.
I will abide by them, keeping calm and trusting God.
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