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Author Archives: John Swinburn
Cancer Journal 22, 2019
Apparently I misunderstood my doctor yesterday. He said, but I did not hear, that he wanted to postpone further radiation treatments until next Thursday. I went in for my treatment this morning and the radiation tech informed me that the … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health
2 Comments
Cancer Journal 21, 2019
The radiologist told me to keep following his drug regimen and to drink six bottles of Ensure a day. And to come back next Thursday and tell him whether the pain I experience while swallowing improves. Hmm. I was hoping … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health
4 Comments
Cancer Journal 20, 2019
A week ago, I began experiencing pain when I swallow, thanks to (I assume) the effects of the radiation treatments on my esophagus. The radiologist prescribed some drugs that I take in succession following each meal: first an ounce of … Continue reading
Morning Babble
Our dinner last night met and exceeded our expectations. My dozen oysters on the half shell were enormous and very tasty. Janine’s dozen fried oysters were at least as good. The conversation with our friends was delightful and my Neulasta … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Putting Things in a Different Perspective
After my radiation treatment today, I visited a friend who’s in the hospital again after a couple of hospitalizations over the past year. His first hospitalization came last February after a “routine” colonoscopy that wasn’t routine, after all. During the … Continue reading
Posted in Health
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Cancer Journal 19, 2019 and Dinners and Netflix Entertainment
Yesterday, the second chemo treatment was administered. It’s a long process, beginning with “backwashing the chemo port,” as I call it. Actually, it’s just cleaning the port and, I guess, ensuring that the contents of the needle plunged into it … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Film, Health, Television series
2 Comments
Just Asking the Question
I read this morning that the Postmaster General blamed the massive and growing deficits of the U.S. Postal Service on a business model mandated by law. Postmaster General Megan Brennan said. “The flawed business model imposed by law continues to be … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Bidirectional Exchange
Daybreak is a special time, but so is nightfall. Both allow us to peer into the universe from different angles, watching time unfold like a flower blossom, unveiling secrets made visible only to those who expend the energy to see … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
3 Comments
2800
Here is blog post 2800. The vast majority of my posts have been, in a sense, invisible. That is, no one but I ever saw them. Or, if they were seen, they were seen by people who were misdirected to … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
4 Comments
Border Child
As a child, I never really understood how close to the border we lived. But Google Maps put it in perspective. We lived considerably less than a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border, defined by a river, the Rio Grande. Maybe … Continue reading
Posted in Memories, Mexico
3 Comments
If I Were Younger
If I were younger, I might make a point of learning the Icelandic language. The vast majority of Icelanders speak the language and a tiny fraction speak English. So, to get along comfortably in the country, I would think it … Continue reading
Posted in Absurdist Fantasy
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Condolences to the Parents of Julen Roselló
I remember the saga of Baby Jessica, the child who fell into a well in her aunt’s yard in Midland, Texas in the late 1980s. It seemed like every person in the U.S. and perhaps around the world held our … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Cancer Journal 18, 2019
My radiologist called in two prescriptions for me yesterday in response to my recent issues with burning pain after swallowing. My regular pharmacy told me yesterday there were “issues” regarding the amount of time for which the drugs were prescribed. … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health
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And the Bible Said
I read a reference yesterday to a bumper sticker. It read as follows: “Pray for Trump—Psalm 109:8.” My biblical illiteracy being what it is, I had to look it up. It reads: 8 Let his days be few; and let … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Cancer Journal (more or less) 17 and Other Stuff
The bright sun and cerulean sky belie the frigid temperature this morning. According to my computer’s weather app, it’s 25 degrees outside. Last night’s weather forecast called for clear skies this morning but carried a warning: Though it might appear … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health, Rant
2 Comments
Cancer Journal 16, 2019
Part I My wife reminded me to make a note of a new development. This morning, I notice a quite significant pain when I swallow hot coffee and cold water. And pain, though not so significant, accompanies swallowing anything else. … Continue reading
Borrowing Money or Time
I’m sure I’ve written about it before, haven’t I? That I am the sixth of six children? That I was an unplanned intrusion into a family that was more than complete at five? That I was a mistake, probably discovered … Continue reading
Posted in Family
3 Comments
I Want a Dog
I have not had a pet since I was a high school kid. The last dog I had wasn’t really my dog. It was my brother’s dog, I guess. Or maybe it belonged to my parents. The last dog I … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Comments
Philosophizing in a Cold Room
Recently, I was thinking about good and evil (I use both words advisedly, as I do not attribute to them any religious significance) in humankind. I wondered why, when we as humans generally agree that good is the preferable of … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy
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Slinking Back
Twice since I deactivated my Facebook account a week ago, I absent-mindedly clicked on the Facebook logo on my desktop, then clicked again when the pre-populated login screen popped up. Instantly, I was on Facebook. When I decided to deactivate, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Real Life Lessons
Let me be unkind for a moment, if you don’t mind. I feel like expressing my perceptions of a guy with whom I’ve shared space in the waiting room while lingering in anticipation of my radiation therapy. Don’t assume I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Civility, Compassion, Empathy, Health
4 Comments
Cancer Journal 15, 2019
This morning, as I was getting ready to take a shower, I noticed that the red area on the skin on the side of my chest, beneath my right arm, had grown in size. I looked closer and noticed a … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health
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Thinking It Through
I don’t know precisely when it happened, but sometime within the past several months (or maybe the past few years) I seem to have lost the ability to sit at my computer and produce pleasing, mellifluous language. I think I … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
4 Comments
Cancer Journal 14, 2019
Thursdays are “talk with the doctor” days after radiation treatment. First, a nurse weighs the patient, then another nurse queries the patient about any problems or questions, then a dietitian asks probing questions about the patient’s appetite and discusses his … Continue reading
Posted in Cancer, Health
3 Comments
Still Walking Each Other Home
A quote from Ram Dass is on my mind this morning. “After all, we’re just walking each other home.” Those words often find their way to my consciousness, but I never seem to be able to fathom precisely why they … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy
2 Comments