There is a chance of some rain today and over the weekend.  There is a little mist in the air which is delicious.  Yea, we bitch about the cold and then it turns hot and we bitch about that.  We bitch about the rain and the it turns dry and scary and we bitch about that.  Yup.  Anyway I just found this quote tucked away in one of my Bibles and I’m going to plug this in for a TGIF post and give myself a break.  It’s entitled Attitude and is by Charles Swindoll.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life.  Attitude, to me, is more than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company…a church…a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the enevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

Yup, now I’m off to the hospital with Jennifer to work on our cancer hobbies.  My turn to drive today and we are allowing a little extra time to goof around.  Maybe we will work on our attitudes!  Thanks so much for being here with us, generous attitude loves, Felipe.

This is highlights only.  This was yesterday, our every other Wednesday great big infusion of medicine/chemicals/poison.  So there is that side of it and the other side is to work hard to make that fun.  I think that we got slightly (?) carried away but what is life for anyway?

I brought a little cooler with tapas for lunch.  I’m thinking about adding wine to that in the future.  We had dropped off Jennifer’s friend Ellen off downtown so she could shop so J and I had a couple of hours to play music too load, look at pictures of gardens in magazines, think that playing charades would be a good idea and have time left over to eat tapas.  Drinks as coffee, tea, nutritional shakes and soft drinks are available at the little cantina.  We had time to smooze with our nurses and Doc Gold (call sign Nugget) kept circling through checking on our behavior but trying to look like he wasn’t.

At some point Ellen taxi cabbed in and added her two cents.  Oh, but this is after I was told to turn down my music.  OK, OK,  I thought that is what ear plugs were for.  Catherine had sent me this great song known as St. Francis’ breastplate.  I will get you a link soon.  So the three of us played charades.  We were rusty but enthusiastic.  This is great Cammando training in non verbal communication which is needed for certain delicate capers.  As luck would have it J got words like corn while I got four syllable ones, story of my life.

Then my good buddy Steve-O rolled in to really amp things up.  He has a way of doing that.  He and Ellen immediately started talking Norwegian, right?  It was immensely great to see  him as it has been months.  So, interestingly enough he brings a power outage with him, timing wise that is.  This was great addition to the hospital ambiance.  All the lighting was low and all the chemo machines stopped there incessant beeping and alarming which made us seem louder.  This is the point when we were reaching our flaming crescendo (louder  than the Italians)  and at one point J’s nurse had me go sit in the corner.  Don’t you just love them?   Where is the film crew when you need them?

Well there you have it sports fans.

Jennifer and I were at the hospital today, long day.  One thing is that we have been working on our lingo.   I mean along with being a little too rowdy and “louder than the Italians”(my own unscientific  observation).  We had massive help from Jennifer’s friend Ellen and my friend Steve, I might add.  Thanks guys.  But unfortunately I am exhausted from the cancer walk today and really can’t do history justice.

I guess that the title of this needs to be explained before I check out for the evening.  I mean I have been trying to get this post written all day but too much action going on.  It feels like many evenings on the Camino.   I’d be trying to get out a blog post worth a darn after an exhausting day of Caminoheading.  Oh yea, back to the title: we have swapped out the word mission for the word caper.  So, Cancer Camandos will preform Capers instead of missions starting today.   Lingo getting some attention.

Tomorrow gang, it’s all happening.  Prayers for Ashley please, wife of my Marine buddy Matt was in surgery today.  St James is Afoot.  Love you, Felipe.

I goofed up on the date for the Fun Run.  The correct date is Saturday August 15th.  Sorry, too much sun maybe.  Felipe.

OK, we’ve had the Caminoheads Make A Will Party, we’ve had the CH’s Car Wash, yup.  We had one other thing but I can’t zero in on it.   Now it’s the CH’s Community Service Day.  Coming up on August 15th St John Vianney’s is having there first Charity Fun Run.  It is a family run of 5 k, so it’s not some long carried out deal.  OK, so here’s the kicker, I volunteered you all to staff this event.  They need 6-8 folks to do registration, water tables and crossing guards.  So I said, “We can do that! ”   So yea, Dana y Catherine, My Rebecca, Chris, Jennifer and me is six.  And maybe we will pick up a few more.   Maybe the Wiley and Riley Show will be available.

I am off to the hospital today to see my beloved Dr Zucker here in a minute.  He keeps my head screwed on straight.  So I will have to make it short for now.   Already took a walk around outside.  There is six feet of water in the well.  The horse trough is full.  The corn looks good after I dumped a bunch of water on it last evening.  It’s all about water at the ranch and in the American West right now.

Prayers for Ashley who is having an operation on Wednesday.  We’ve been praying for you too.  We’re getting beat up as we get older but we are still in the fight.   You can tell us by our black eyes, love, Felipe.

This goes along with a few posts recently which were about playing around with death.  This following passage from the book of Wisdom was part of last week’s Catholic service but them couldn’t get it copied and then this week the same and I finally just wrote it all down, feeling very monklike, just like the old days.  Now I am going to type all into this post, ready?

                                                                                                   Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24 (98B)

God did not make death,

nor does he rejoice in the

destruction of the living.

For He fashioned all things that they

might have being;

and all creatures of the world are

wholesome,

And there is not a destructive drug

amoung them

nor any domain of the netherworld

on earth,

for justice is undying.

For God formed man to be

imperishable;

the image of His own nature he

made him.

But by the envy of the Devil, death

entered the world,

and they who belong to his

company experience it.

There, that took a while.   Well there is something to chew on.   And while I was working on that Annie called and we talked for a half hour.  So PFJ, she is  alive and well.  So, I’m off to make potato salad.  The best to you,  Felipe.

IMG_1054

Here we are once again, American Independence Day!  This is a biggie in the States.   Pilgrim Farmer John in his comment yesterday wished us all a Happy Fourth and back to ya PFJ.  Hot here as it should be.  But the real celebrating comes after dark this evening with fireworks shows.  Just hope we don’t burn the place down in our exuberance.

One of the great local traditions here on Vashon is the Around the Island Hydroplane Race.  Hydroplanes are a fusion of a boat with an airplane.  They skip across the surface of the water at high speed and they got their start here in The Seattle area after World War Two.  These here today locally are tiny renditions of the monster boats that are used in the professional races.  But we love them because they are local with local young studly drivers.   That happened very early this morning when the water is at it’s smoothest.  I could hear them from five miles away up here at the ranch on the top of the isle.  So that’ s cool.  (YouTube has video under Vashon hydroplane races)

So, this evening My Rebecca and Jennifer and other friends are going done to the harbor to see the evenings fireworks show.  We’ll have food and drinks and laughs.  Then the local show will last a half hour and is usually spectacular.  I heard the rumor hat this year’s will be better than last because the boys got some better deals on explosives.

Well I have to go and water the corn before I get swept up in the festivities.  Can’t seem to throw enough water at it these hot days.  Hope that there is a random cloud floating over MM and Kelly on the Camino today.  Alright, have to prepare to party.  Hydroplane loves,  Felipe.

Just as Our Pilgrim Farmer John lost his childhood friend, we will mourn with him.  Just as Our Angela is in the middle of winter in Australia and we are wilting in the heat we will try and warm her with our thoughts.  Just as its Our Mary Margaret’s birthday, we will help her celebrate.   And the same with Our Father Tom who had his birthday a few days ago.  Just as Our Kelly is getting back to the Camino in Leon we will give a toast to him.

Somehow we have become our own our’s.   Maybe we always were but we are just recognizing the fact.  Hmmm.  I am thinking few words are better than more today.  Global Caminohead loves, Felipe.

You have to read Pilgrim Farm John’s comment on yesterday’s post to understand what I am thinking about today.  It is about the suicide of a childhood friend of his.  So crazy sad this kind of stuff.  I feel for John and his family.

But if you read his comment you will see that we here at Caminoheads were a part of the healing process for this hurt.  John took a step to fill a gap at the memorial service.  He and one of his daughters took a step that maybe seemed small to them at the time to honor the memory of their friend and neighbor.  And John said that he was thinking about and inspired by our blog post, “Cancer Commando’s First Mission”.  This is where we were talking about making seemingly small insignificant actions to better the world.

I heard this part of the lyrics from a Van Morrison song today that was, “Turn It Up”.   That’s what I’m thinking as I blog here, let’s turn it up!  We need to turn it up a notch and see what happens.  In this crazy world where we have to contend with crazy stuff like suicide why can’t we start doing some crazy stuff, crazy good stuff.  I’m calling for turning it up gang!  What do you think?  There is a saint of small things, small miracles.  Isn’t she always carrying roses.  Seemingly small loves, Felipe.

It’s Wednesday of my off week.  Last Wednesday I was at Swedish Hospital, Seattle and next Wednesday I will be there again.   It’s been a long slog as time goes on.  It turns into an endurance race once the novelty wears off.  It takes an effort to make the hospital visits something other than fearful drudgery.  Who wants to go through all that trouble to go that far to be poisoned?  Just leave me alone, right?

But somewhere along the line I got the idea that I should be appreciative toward the doctors and nurses, the folks that I come in contact with anyway.  So, I take them little things, treats.  I’ve settled on healthy stuff like blueberries or those bite sized tomatoes or sometimes animal crackers.  Just something, it’s the thought really.   So I get something out of that that helps me as I look forward to seeing those folks.

Then I try really hard to remember everyone’s name and I ask if I forg

et.  Forging these relationships as changed the whole experience for me.  Then lately having someone to travel with and share these odd excursions has been another upgrade.  Another reason to look forward to going just to be a part of that.  Like on the Camino we share the walk and are the better for it in the end.  Thanks Jennifer.

Off to check on the corn and water a few rows.  Summertime loves, Felipe.