TOO FAR

I loved the showtime series Weeds. I became interested in the show one Saturday when KHOP had brought Kyle over for a gamewatch when he was a few months old. He fell asleep as she was thinking about leaving, so she had to stay and we sat around and watched 4 episodes back to back. It was a fresh take on the indebt suburban widow, deeply in debt with two kids to support who starts to sell pot to the city councilman. The writing was good, the show was funny, the acting was great. We kept watching. I set up TIVO to record it and watched the second season in the weeks after my surgery. I read the debates that preceded the third season saying that it was making drug dealing look to safe and easy, but it was just TV comedy. So, I watched the third season. It was darker and more dangerous and not as funny, but there was still good stuff. Nancy, the protagonist was getting linked with bad gangs and her children discovered what she did. She even got her teenage son working for her. The younger son was having serious emotional issues. That bothered me, but it was still TV, suspended animation, right? So, still I TIVo'd the beginning of the 4th season..

In the first episode it came out that one of Nancy's new gang cronies started a fire that devastated her nice Valley suburban town in order to destroy a competitors pot crop since he had attacked her kid. OK, in Southern California, wildfires aren't a joke. Then in episode 2, she moves the family to San Diego and starts drug trafficking for the same violent gang. Not to mention her younger son is clearly suffering and the older one is heading off in a dangerous direction. So, while I get Showtimes desire to make this show darker and reflect the dangers of Nancy's line of work. I feel like they are going too far in continuing to write a comedy about such things. These are all very serious issues and while comedy can be effective political satire. I'm not sure that this show is going in the right direction. I think it is coming off of my TiVo season pass list. Sorry Showtime. You went too far.

That was thenThis is now

So, finally I will post about my last trip to New York. Sorry for the long wait. I have gotten many emails worried that I wasn't posting because of bad news. Fortunately, that is not the case. Everything went well.

My friend V-L took the train down from Pittsburgh to hang out with me. The weather wasn't so good, but the company was excellent, so that was nice. It was great seeing V-L, getting to hang out with her. It was the fun part of the trip. I have previously posted how it feels odd to me that I travel almost 3000 miles for follow up, but on this trip I felt something different about it. For one thing it was incredibly efficient. I had two scans, another set of xrays and two doctors visits in 2days. It was a little exhausting, but at least well organized, and all of the news was good. My scans still showed no evidence of disease, and this perplexing numb foot thing is getting better, and no one is advocating surgery for now. Plus I got to stop PT after that so all is good. Additionally, going far away and having everything done in two days, makes this feel like my illness is in New York, it helps with the compartamentalizing of my life. Plus, I still really like my ortho onc. She is an unusual surgeon and she really listens to what I have to say. So, every 6 months, I'll go to New York- Fine by me. There are worse places to have to go.

The day before my surgery I took this picture in central park-



My mom has been wanting me to take another photo in the same spot on my last two visits, so when Vas and I walked past the rock we complied.



Plus, as I have written many times before I miss my shoes. So, I have now been given the green light to wear heels as long as they are comfortable for me. I walked into Jimmy Choo's and tried on these shoes and even Vas had to declare that they were Cinderella slippers. They felt like they were made for my feet. they are now mine. Forgive me.

Lakers-Celtics

The first sports team I ever cared about was the Lakers. My parents took us to games when we were little and I used to sit on my dad's lap all dressed and scream "Go Yellow"- although I couldn't quite say yellow. Thus a love affair began. The only other sports team that I care about is ND football, and well I have only followed them for half my life. The Lakers, they are my sporting love. I remember gathering together as a family to watch the 80s Lakers- Celtics finals. I HATED the Celtics, especially Kevin McHale, really I challenge anyone who watched the infamous "clothesline" to not hate Kevin McHale. Larry Bird was like the annoying menace, so good you had to respect him. But then there was my team. I used to practice hook shots by the hour to try to emulate Kareem, mind you I never really got it, and Magic is like no one else. In my mind he still is the preeminent player. OK maybe Michael Jordan, but nah I am a Lakers fan, so Magic. What about the MVP you say? Well, he is great, but he is a spoiled numbskull, gifted with so much talent, yet full of histrionics, and named after a steak. So while I love to watch what he can do with a basketball, he doesn't match up to the others.

So it is finally back, the Lakers and the Celtics in the NBA finals. The preeminent NBA franchises with Phil Jackson aiming to oust the Celtics storied coach as the most successful NBA coach of all time and my Lakers aiming to recapture what they gave up in 2004 when they imploded. Game 1 tonight. Game on.

May Book Binge Results

Thanks to my friend Kim, I participated in the May Book Binge. I am somewhat surprised that I didn't read more, but here goes...


Thirteen Moons- Charles Frazier: The second book by the guy who wrote Cold Mountain didn't suffer from the second book curse. This story follows the trials and tribulations of a 12 year old orphan sold by his family to man an isolated trading post in Indian Territory in the early 1800s. It follows his life as he is embraced by the Indians among who he now lives with and ultimately becomes their "lawyer" then congressman through the mass "removal" of the Native Americans to the "New Nation" ie. kicking them off of their native land so that it could be sold. It is definately not a page turner, but a really good story, well written.

The Balanced Plate- Renee Loux (pp1-180) This is sort of a cookbook/ nutrition book so I am including it. Renee Loux is a proponent of the whole food and organic food movement and the first 180 pages of the book explain why. She is also an advocate of being aware of where food comes from. THe book part was well written and easy to read given what it was. INteresting and definately food for thought.

The Memory Keepers Daughter- Kim Edwards- My June book club selection. I won't write too much before discussing this with my friends, but this is a captivating story of bad decisions and how they can distroy people's lives. It made me cry, and yes I had to read the end twice in the first 50 pages to know where the story was going ( a flaw of mine).

LIlah- by Marek Halter (pp 50- end) THis is the third book in the Canaan Triology. A series of books written about famous Old Testament Women. This was my least favorite of the three, but all told it was an easy, interesting read. The first two- Sarah and Zipporah, wife of Moses were really good, I thought.

World WIthout End- Ken Follett- (pp1-150) This book is the follow up to PIllars of the Earth which despite being over a thousand pages is one of my favorite books. It was historical fiction chronicalling the building of the Salisbury cathedral. When I finished PotE I felt like I had lost good friends becuase that one took me so long to read. So far I am still gettting into WWE, but it picks up where PotE ended, and it is like refinding those friends. These books are low on action but high on wonderful stories very well written. I hope I am not disappointed.

Oh yeah, and- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix pp 300something to the end- I am rereading the Harry Potter series these days because when I finished the last one I realized, I had forgotten a lot. THey still are so good and it is interesting reading them knowing the end. You really realize what a good job JK Rowling did.