Fort's Cancer Sux!!

I know you've all been on pins and needles waiting for this past weeks recap so I wont waste any time....

We spent the fourth at the Nelson's (friends of the family) and as you can see it was pretty cramped quarters...it rained for a bit and we all ran inside and huddled together in whatever space we could find. Dare I milk this with even more sarcasm?
It was a great time, great food, full of middle aged men acting like giddy 9-year olds over a stack of fireworks. It really was a sight. John & I are actually somewhere in this picture.

We did leave the party with one pleasant, and unexpected surprise…a pair of free plane tix from my folk’s friends. They thought we could use a vacation so we’re heading down to Marco Island the last full weekend of August. Stacy’s parents are letting us use their condo on the beach.

On that note, Pauly said at Hap’s this weekend he was going to make me an actual “cancer card” that I can pull out and swipe after we score huge gifts in light of our temporary misfortune.

I took it a step further and said it should be like a Diners club card with a 100 squares that can be “punched” after every time I use it. The free flight & lodging most certainly deserves multiple punches once Pauly comes through with the card. This way, when I “play” the cancer card, my friends wont need to take their arm and make a swiping motion, to assure me that they’re taking note…

Whats great about it is that I can hire out my friends to use it as well…I had meant to tell Kat thanks for the Hyde Park Blast Tee!! What a sweet shirt! I heard you were playing my cancer card the whole day & that there’s ANOTHER SHIRT WAITING FOR ME?? (punch, punch)…..

Next on the calendar was Amy & Brian’s wedding! It was at the Madison in Covington – Good times. The Kelts table was the one closest to the bar. This seems to be the standard with this group…


Amy & Brian - Congrats to the happy couple!

When we were sitting at the table, I made a very important decision that all my blog readers are going to have to participate in. Im changing one of the “Good Manners” rules. Whats the deal with the whole “Elbows on the Table” thing? Ive been doing it since I was a kid and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Forearms on the table is OK but elbows are not?? Whats the deal? It makes no sense. So I did some researching. I found this after a brief google search, and it may not be correct, but it certainly supports my decision to banish the rule world wide:

“The great houses and castles of England during the middle ages did not have dining tables in the great halls, so tables were made from trestles and covered with a cloth. The diners sat along one side only; if they put their elbows on the table and leant too heavily, the table could collapse.”

So there. The table could collapse. So basically, only at rancid, broken furniture-filled college homes should the “elbows on the table” rule exist.

So heres what we’re all gonna do. The next time you’re at a dinner function, slam your elbows on the table and make the following announcement: “So I read the other day that the “Elbows on the table” rule? They’re not enforcing it anymore. Its kind of like the Vatican II of manners. It just doesn’t make sense. Americans are getting fatter & lazier, so automobile & Plane seats are getting larger, and you can put your elbows on the table. Pass it on.”

So when you say that you “read the other day”, and someone says, “Where in the hell did you read THAT?”…just say Newsweek or the Christian Science Monitor. My blog doesn’t hold that kind of credibility…. YET. But most people wont question. They’ll just spread it. And that’s what we want.

Heres the group at the wedding – and me, protesting the Elbows on the table rule.


Jeromy, Pony, Lisa, Tatonka, Me, Tony, Misti, Carolyn, Matt, Paulythebastard, Elizabeth & Segal.

After the wedding we all headed over to Spoon’s place for a pool party – Cheers to Kristen & Spoons for another year of kickass mac & cheese, great tunes, ample fireworks and of course, the ribs. My camera’s memory stick was full so I was LUCKY enough to catch this shot of Ziggy, Curt & J-Mac who took a quick break from drinking to take this shot.



Sunday I spent the day with Karen & Sam at the Harrison Y pool. Good times. Got some well needed sun and color. Karen got some nachos and Sam was dipping the chips into the cheese, licking the cheese off the chip, and then RE-DIPPING the soggy chip back into the cheese. Kept telling Karen to “DIBBIT! DIBBIT! DIBBIT!”…Cheese ALL OVER this kids face. To friggin funny.



Then the grand finale…..

Priceless.

Oh yeah...and kids love me by the way:


This will be a busy week – They’re digging up the plumbing tomorrow, I have that PET scan on Wednesday, and should hear back on the tumor marker tests probably today or tomorrow. Do you sense that Im petrified? This is me petrified – I keep it in check but Im still wiggin’ out on the inside! If the tests don’t come back with some positive changes, Romer is going to change my treatments…just when I was getting used to this crap!! UGH. Keep your fingers crossed!!

!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!!
Romer's office just called and my tumor marker went from 268 to 152!!!! GINORMOUS DROP!!! Thanks everyone for the prayers and positive energy!! Hopefully the PET scan results will confirm those scores even further. Thanks again.