And as one of my fellow actors said,

 "That's a wrap."

This year I found myself participating in another play, "Lafferty's Wake." I read in our county paper that there was going to be a casting call. And after talking it over with Joyce, we decided that this fall would be open if I actually got a part. Last year, for some reason ;-) was not a good year for me going out for long stretches at a time. But now, since that chapter was finished, we thought getting me out of her now growing hair for a while might be an okay change of pace. We  will come back to that in a few paragraphs.

The audition went well, in my humble opinion. It was humorous filling out the application. There was a part that asked if I could sing. Well, anyone who knows me knows my answer was a resounding NO!!!!!. Literally, that is how I put it on there. There was a part that asked if I could dance. Again, NO!!!!! Was my answer. As some would say, as a dancer I am a singer and as a singer I am a dancer. I can't understand why people aren't able to equate singing in tune as singing louder. Honestly, that is what I do.

Of course, being an old bald guy helps get parts written for old bald guys. So I had that going for me. And there was a part that fit those two criteria. To shorten this part of the blog, I did get offered a part as a bartender. And without reading most ( let's put that as hardly any ) of the script, I said I would take the part. After all, how much would a barkeeper be able to say in a two hour play? As it turns out, quite a bit.

Rory Finn turns out to be the Master of Ceremonies at his good friend's wake. So, for two hours of the show, I was there for all but 3 minutes. I guess I should have looked at the script a bit better. Oh, did I mention that Rory had a couple of solo singing parts? Which turned out to be kind of hilarious during our practices. I have been on stage enough to know that once you have adopted the character as your own, it is full throttle ahead. So when it came to the singing parts that is what I did. They kept asking me to sing in tune, so of course I just sang louder and louder and louder. I kept reminding the other cast members of how I had "punctuated" my application.

The play was a dinner theatre production and we were suppose to shatter the "fourth wall." In most plays, the audience is only presented with actors addressing three walls. The fourth wall is the wall that faces the audience. The audience is the fourth wall. And when that wall gets "broken" the audience is either talked to directly or becomes part of the production. In this play, they became part of the production. Did I mention this was a comedy? Needless to say, the unsuspecting audience was included in many of the lighter moments. We only had one person who did not appreciate being brought up on stage to participate. I suppose that is not too bad for the 40 or 50 people we selected over the course of the six night run.

In the end it was a fun project. It was well received. I didn't forget too many lines. I sang as loudly as I needed. And in the end, Joyce discovered that me being away that many times during the night was not as well received by The Dude as she might have thought. I guess she had to spend most of those evenings sitting beside him. And now that Joyce is well, sitting for an evening is not something that comes easily.

here is a link to a mannequin challenge that is all the rage I guess:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_iJTYTNpsrs&time_continue=27

Rest in Peace, Jacob

My heart aches today. I am crying as I write these words.

Jacob Wetterling, a former student in the teaching team where he was a student the day he was kidnapped, was finally brought home. He is not alive in body, nor has he been since the day he was kidnapped, but he is alive in spirit, and has been since that same day.

It has been a very long and arduous journey for the Wetterling family and for those who were closely involved. I had always hoped the filming we had done as a school project would be helpful in bringing Jacob home. Alas, it was not to be.

I am glad many of us now know. I have always been angry that Jacob was a victim of a predator. It is hard to work through the stages of grief when in the final stage one just does not know the final fate.

Every gathering, every large group activity always had me scanning faces to see if there was a chance that he might be one of them. There was always the chance. There was always the hope.

Rest in Peace, Jacob

Ta Da, end of treatments day!

So, what do we know after all is said and done? We know that Joyce is free from her cancer. We know that what she had to go through, I would not wish on anyone. We know that because of the advancement of medicine, she has a 97% chance of her cancer not returning. More than that, we know that we have the best support system we could ever hope to have. Starting with our immediate family, who were there at a moment's notice in case we needed anything; Our friends, who prayed, cooked, visited and offered words of encouragement throughout the process and of course, the medical staff, who held our hands throughout the process. 

We can not say enough good things about The Coborn Cancer Center and the staff. I can not imagine a job too much more difficult than meeting complete strangers to deliver the news that cancer is now a part of their lives. I can not imagine a more difficult job trying to keep the hopes and spirits of affected patients positive. I can only imagine the positive reward for their work when they see a patient "survive" against odds that were stacked against them. 

The facility itself presents a hopeful environment in which patients feel secure in the hope for the future. It has all the incremental elements necessary to answer the questions of the patients as soon as they are ready to ask them. From a pleasant architectural setting to social work outreach to the personal enhancement section where patients are given free wigs, scarves and hats. Every question had an answer that inspired hope for the future.

Our friends who prayed for us and kept us in their thoughts should know that in the darker hours, yours was the light that kept our heads high and looking ever forward. Your phone calls, your food, your gifts, your patience with Gary when he would not let you visit, and your hugs when he did. Thank all of you for being there for us.

Cole, Sharon, Kylara, Garrison, brothers and sisters have been amazing through all of this. At the drop of a hat, if needed, whatever needed to be provided was there for us. Encouragement, food, housekeeping, hair (yes, hair) and dog sitting services were there for the asking.

To all of you, thank you.

I would like to say that the time has passed by quickly, but I can not. Since all of this started in mid October time seemed to drag along. I suppose it being winter, Joyce pretty much confined to quarters and my historical dislike for the winter months made it feel that way. The brightest spot through all of this has been Joyce's eternally optimistic outlook at the outcome. Never once has she altered her opinion that she was going to get through this as a winner. Even on her most debilitated day following her chemo treatment, her mood was always looking ever positively forward. I believe she was her own best healer. I suppose that is one of the reasons I agreed to let her marry me. ;-)

For now, we are moving ahead with the plans that we had before all of this started. We are going to be camping more, golfing more, canoeing more, fishing more, bicycling more and we can do that with a fresher appreciation of life. So, there you are. This side trip on our life journey is at an end and we are back on track to many many more days regaling in life here at Peaceful Pines. By the way, I have officially opened the gates to visitors if you would like to drop by and say hi.