Saturday, April 28, 2012
Waking up this early on a Saturday morning has its benefits. One is catching up on new music by turning on VH1 when there are actually videos playing.
There are plenty of cheesy and/or lazy videos out there (see: Daughtry, Katy Perry) … and plenty of interesting, cool videos (see: K’naan, Fun.).
But the one that made me stop putzing around on the Internet (multitasking for no real reason) was this video by Jason Mraz: I Won’t Give Up.
There is another version of this song online, which shows the lyrics throughout the song — not in the boring, straightforward way you sometimes see on YouTube videos, but in a visually beautiful way, still telling a story despite barely seeing any humans until the very end. That’s worth a watch (and read) too.
The video that was played on VH1 showed a wide range of humans, literally from very young to very old and everywhere in between. There weren’t a lot of “settings” to tell the stories of these individuals like you usually see in music videos, but you didn’t need that.
All you needed was a young man with a prosthetic leg, standing and holding his girlfriend in his arms.
An older man tossing aside his briefcase and suit jacket and walking away.
A mother putting a towel over the shoulders of her little boy just come out of the pool.
A man with half of his face scarred by burns, smiling.
An elderly man with his hand over his heart.
A policeman standing alone.
An old woman, rocking in her chair, her nails beautifully painted red.
A boy, playing on a ladder, and jumping into a pool after some contemplation.
“I don’t wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I’m here to stay and make the difference that I can make…”
Good News on a Good Day
Friday, April 6, 2012
Grateful to have woken up today to relief after a real scare in this ongoing recent roller coaster ride of a cancer diagnosis in my family.
We all thought my sister’s diagnosis of thyroid cancer was the “best-case scenario.” If you have to have cancer, we were told, thyroid cancer is the best kind to have — “best” being a relative term here, of course. And hers was caught very early, thanks to Canada’s health care system that gives full-body scans when you turn 40 years old. The lump was found before any symptoms were felt. The surgery to remove the thyroid glands was uneventful. One radiation treatment would take care of it.
What we didn’t know, until last week, was the kind of thyroid cancer my sister has. We didn’t know until last week what the endocrinologist told her was discovered after the surgery, that she has the scariest (my term, not his) sub-type of thyroid cancer, something called diffuse sclerosis.
I had considered myself an expert internet surfer and searcher until this past week when I could find frustratingly little information about this type of cancer other than the repetitive search result: that it was the rarest form, the fastest spreading, and the hardest to treat. There are no positive terms, relative or otherwise, in there.
She had x-rays, blood tests, and another ultrasound to determine if the cancer had spread, and then we sat back to play the waiting game.
This morning, the waiting game is over and the news is good again. The cancer has not spread. One lymph node is slightly enlarged, but the expected one dose of radiation should take care of that.
Relief seems an insufficient term for this feeling but it will have to do.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Super grateful to have experienced this relatively rare performance of “Thundercrack” in person at the Garden, part of this set list from Bruce:
1. We Take Care of Our Own
2. Wrecking Ball
3. Badlands
4. Death to My Hometown
5. My City of Ruins
6. Thundercrack (tour premiere, dedicated to a 17-year old in the pit)
7. Jack of all Trades
8. Jackson Cage (tour premiere)
9. She’s the One (tour premiere, Jake Clemons played the sax solo)
10. Easy Money
11. Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
12. The Promised Land
13. Apollo Medley (The Way You Do The Things You Do/ 634-5789)
14. American Skin (41 Shots)
15. Lonesome Day (was an either/or with Shackled and Drawn on the set list)
16. The Rising
17. We Are Alive
18. Thunder Road
Encores:
19. Rocky Ground w/Michelle Moore
20. Land of Hope and Dreams
21. Born to Run
22. Dancing in the Dark
23. Raise Your Hand (with Peter Wolf) (tour premiere)
24. Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Grateful to at least have a view like to gaze out at when contemplating important and difficult choices.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Grateful to have attended one of the last Bruce shows at Giants Stadium, and can’t wait to see him and the E Street guys at the Garden in eight days. Not that I’m counting ;)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Today I’m grateful that our good friend, T.O., has found a new job that excites him and challenges him, after a long search a new opportunity. He deserves this, and I’m looking forward to bearing witness to him kicking ass!
Monday, March 12, 2012
“Be still, my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in…”
Looking forward to seeing Colin Hay here in Boston in early May. Grateful to Chad for getting the tickets, and our good friend T.O. for pointing out the show to Chad!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Today I’m grateful that Maryland is making marriage an equal right for all human beings. About freakin’ time.
(Photo from Aaron Courter photography)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Today I’m grateful that my sister has recovered enough from Tuesday’s surgery to go home and continue her recovery where she wants to be — with her boys.
I’m also reminded of how lucky we are to have such an amazing extended family full of love and support. Very lucky, indeed.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Seeing back-to-back Facebook posts like the above, grateful simply for life, is a reminder of the true value of each day.
