Back To Reality (Amost!)

Monday, September 29, 2008

Well, it is Monday morning in St. Louis and life for me is back to normal – NOT! I am not sure when I will be able to mentally process how my 10 weeks at Jill’s House in Bloomington and the associated MPRI Proton Radiation treatments and the relationships I experienced there have changed my life. I am not sure when it will hit me that I am not going to be having any more morning coffee breaks with my buddies at Jill’s House, interactions with the Jill’s House personnel and dedicated volunteer staff. I am just glad that I have some time to myself to process this period in my life this week. One thing that I do know right now is that it was an experience that touched my life and I pray that I will never be the same again.

Scripture: (1 Peter 5:6-11)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Joke For Today

Dragging Their Feet

Two men are approaching each other on a sidewalk. Both are dragging their right foot as they walk.

As they meet, one man looks at the other knowingly, points to his foot and says, Vietnam, 1969."

The other points his thumb behind him and says, "Dog crap, 20 feet back."

My MPRI Experience (D-Day)

Week 10 – Treatment #44 – Thursday, September 25, 2008

Today is D-Day, the end of the line for me at MPRI. It was a long night. I think I have finally started processing that I am leaving Jill's House for good and another chapter of my life is ending.

Joke of the Day

Bacon in My Ear

Loyd walks into a doctor''s office. He has a sausage coming out of his ear, a waffle coming out of his nose, and bacon coming out of his other ear.

Loyd says worriedly, "Doc, what''s wrong with me?!?"

The doctor replies, "You''re not eating properly."

My MPRI Experience

My MPRI Experience

Week 10 – Treatment #42 – Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Well, when I got up to go to the bathroom for the 3rd time since I went to bed, my alarm clock read 5:25 a.m. For some reason, my mind started to race (I know most of you guys in Jill’s House will find that hard to believe!) I have been trying to figure out how I should be spending the final three days that I have here at Jill’s House. I am not sure why, but when my brain finally went back into “idle” mode, I pondered all of the many different questions that folks had asked over the last 9-10 weeks and what I have found out.

One of the big frustrations that we have discussed over and over is the lack of any guide or handout of MPRI Prostate Cancer Proton Treatment “Dos” and “Don’ts”. So, I started trying to list out all the questions I had run across over the last 9 weeks. I wrote myself a note to work on this when I woke up. Different questions and answers came to my mind and so right then, I knew that my “sleep” time for today had ended. So, just for today, I am going to put on my “car guy” newspaper hat and put together my “best effort” to write my Jill’s House newspaper article. I guess I am going to put on my “Dear Abby” hat too. So, if while I am working on my questions and answers, if you have any questions that has been burning in your mind, just let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

I am trying to decide between several different titles listed below:

“Kim Sjerven's MPRI Proton Radiation Prostate Cancer FAQs”

“Inquiring Minds Want To Know Why Robbie Decided To Stand Up When Eating Breakfast After His 17th Proton Radiation Treatment”

I will be out of Jill's House today shortly after 9:30 a.m. I am making a "spiritual" journey to "The Farm" run by Ruth Ann and Jim Wade. I have a 5:30 p.m. treatment so I may not get back to answering these questions until then. BUT feel free to submit your questions to me via email at sjerven@swbell.net. Yes, you women can submit questions too!

Joke of the Day

Our local drugstore was robbed of 500 bottles of Viagra.

The suspect is known to be a hardened criminal!

My MPRI Experience

Week 10 – Treatment #41 – Monday, September 22, 2008

This is D-Day week for me. I only have four more treatments left to go. Ed & I drove back from St. Louis last night since he had a 9:30 a.m. treatment today. We got in about 11:30 p.m. last night. I got to bed about midnight and was up around 7 a.m. I had a leisurely breakfast (coffee and one yogurt) and then attended our morning devotional time. Then, I went up to my room to finish up my personal devotions.

I called the AT&T Disability Service Center to try to get my return to work date updated to 10-6. I sent in the latest updates I had and then called the center again and talked with a contact who said she would review my information and then call me. Then, I took my laptop down to the dining area to work on my photos. I have worked on them for the last 3 hours or so and finally have got them labeled. I am copying them to my flash drive so other folks can copy them. I am also making a copy for John. I will probably make a few copies on CDs for folks who do not have a computer. When I was going back to my room Sara asked if I was going to have a slide show setup for Thursday evening for the going away party.

I hope to get a chance to work on a Jill’s House DVD. I need to go through the photos and decide which ones to print. So, that is what I am working on today. My treatment is scheduled for 5 p.m. today. I worked on naming, editing, and organizing my photos today. I spend 3-5 hours getting them all updated. Then, I created several DVD disks of photos to give out to folks. I also copied them to a flash drive for folks that had laptops here. So, I am getting the photos to those who want copies.

After organizing all the photos and doing some initial editing, I reviewed all the photos and created a presentation folder that I am going to use for a slide show on Thursday evening when we have our going away desert time. Sara R had asked about a slide presentation so I have that completed. Whew!


Joke of the Day

The CIA had an opening for an assassin.

The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists - two men and one woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. You have to kill her. The first man said.”You can’t be serious. I could never shoot my wife!

The agent replies, “Then you’re not the right man for this job."

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the agent came out with tears in his eyes. I tried, but I can’t kill my wife. The agent replies, “You don’t have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. Only she was told to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow and said,”You guys didn’t tell me the gun was loaded with blanks. So I had to beat him to death with the chair.”

My MPRI Experience

Tonight, I added the Caring Bridge web site links to my blog for the kids I have become acquainted with over the last few weeks. I thank God for the way He has used these kids to touch my heart and soul. If only us as adults could act in such a distinguished fashion. I would gladly trade places with any of these dear children.

My MPRI Experience

Week 9 – Treatment #39 – Thursday, September 18, 2008

Today has been a great day. I got up around 7:30 a.m. and did my morning routine including attending our daily devotional time. I am a little behind today so have a few things to catch up on before I head home. I am in charge of the daily devotionals tomorrow morning. I have my main material completed but need to get my Bible references added so I will be doing that after I update my blog.

After devotions, I chatted a little and then headed back to my room. I did a couple of my own daily devotionals and then had some personal prayer time. Then, before I knew it, it was 11:45 a.m. and Sara (a Jill’s House volunteer) came by to take me out to lunch. We had a nice, quiet lunch in a restaurant in downtown Bloomington (Caribou Harbor, I think). Then, Sara drove me back to Jill’s House and gave me a small package. In it were two small paper weights: one was green and had Trust God on one side and a flame on the other. The other one was blue and had Joy and Peace on one side and a dove on the other. I told Sara I had the perfect place for them on my desk at work. Our lunch reminded me how little time I have left in Bloomington.

I came back to my room and did a couple things before getting ready to walk over to MPRI. When I was leaving, Peg Howard caught me and told me that she needed me. She took me into her office and gave me a CD with I think has some photos of her son Steve who died right before his 19th birthday of cancer. Jill’s House is dedicated to Steve Howard and Jill Berhman. I had told Peg earlier in the day that I wanted to try to make a video for Jill’s House and I needed to have a couple photos of her son Steve. I had told Marilyn Berhman the same thing last night concerning Jill. I also asked if there was any special music that they liked since I was hoping to add some music to the video too. So, that is something else I hope to get accomplished along with a photo collage and photo album. I had also talked to Peg earlier this morning about getting a 3-4’ by 8-10’ particle board put up on a blank wall in the dining area. I told her we could us it for the photo collage. We could put up some pictures of the current residents and then every new group could add some photos to it. So, I will need to look at the CD and see what is there.

I got over to MPRI about 50 minutes early. I drank my water on my way. I went back to see a few of the folks so I could get some photos. Shortly after that, they told me I could get ready. I asked the girls to take some pictures for me since I had seen some of the ones they took for Loyd. I told them I wanted a picture of my x-rays and also of my prostate molds. I am not sure what all pictures they took but will plan on downloading them when I get time. After my treatment, since I was still dressed up from lunch, I had some pictures taken of me and my girls and some of the other MPRI personal.

It sounds like it might be a busy night. There is a band setting up to play on the balcony off of the dining room. John just stopped by to show me some photos he had taken and asked if I would drive him to the bowling alley tonight for their $1 drafts. I told him I had to finish up a couple things first. So, there might be a lot of things to do tonight. Then, I need to get ready to leave town in the morning. Ed and I are carpooling again tomorrow.

Joke of the Day

Alien Abduction

Harry, Bill and Steve are sitting at the corner bar enjoying themselves, when Ted walks in looking distressed.

"Ted, you look awful. What's wrong?" Harry asks.

Ted says, "Last night I got really drunk, and then somewhere between here and my house, I was abducted by an alien?"

Everyone is shocked. "I heard about this kind of thing happening!" Bills says. "What did the alien do to you?"

"I don't remeber all the details," Ted says. "All I remember is being anally probed by the alien."

Everyone is horrified. "I heard that they'll do that!" Steve says. "What did the alien look like?"

Ted responds, "Courtney from MPRI!"

How about this one?

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire

A husband and wife are watching "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," and the husband winks and says, "Honey, let's go upstairs..."

The wife says no, so the husband asks again. Again she says no.

So the husband says, "Is that your final answer?" The wife says yes.

The husband says, "Well, can I phone a friend?"

The Sandpiper By Robert Peterson

The Sandpiper
By Robert Peterson

She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live.
I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles, whenever the world
Begins to close in on me. She was building a sand castle or something
And looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea.

'Hello,' she said.

I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child.

'I'm building,' she said.

'I see that. What is it?' I asked, not really caring.

'Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand.'

That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my shoes.

A sandpiper glided by.

'That's a joy,' the child said.

'It's a what?'

'It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy.'

The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye joy, I muttered to myself,
Hello pain, and turned to walk on. I was depressed; my life seemed
completely out of balance.

'What's your name?' She wouldn't give up.

'Robert,' I answered. 'I'm Robert Peterson.'

'Mine's Wendy... I'm six.'

'Hi, Wendy.'

She giggled. 'You're funny,' she said.

In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked on.
Her musical giggle followed me.

'Come again, Mr. P,' she called. 'We'll have another happy day.'

The next few days consisted of a group of unruly Boy Scouts, PTA meetings,
And an ailing mother. The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out
Of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I said to myself, gathering up my coat.

The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me. The breeze was
Chilly but I strode along, trying to recapture the serenity I needed.

'Hello, Mr. P,' she said. 'Do you want to play?'

'What did you have in mind?' I asked, with a twinge of annoyance.

'I don't know. You say.'

'How about charades?' I asked sarcastically.

The tinkling laughter burst forth again. 'I don't know what that is.'

'Then let's just walk.'

Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness of her face.
'Where do you live?' I asked.

'Over there.' She pointed toward a row of summer cottages.

Strange, I thought, in winter.

'Where do you go to school?'

'I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation.'

She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the beach, but my mind was
On other things. When I left for home, Wendy said it had been a
happy day.
Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.

Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic. I was in no
Mood to even greet Wendy. I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt
like demanding she keep her child at home.

'Look, if you don't mind,' I said crossly when Wendy caught up with me, 'I'd
rather be alone today.' She seemed unusually pale and out of breath.

'Why?' she asked.

I turned to her and shouted, 'Because my mother died!' and thought,
my, why was I saying this to a little child?

'Oh,' she said quietly, 'then this is a bad day.'

'Yes,' I said, 'and yesterday and the day before and -- oh, go away!'

'Did it hurt?' she inquired.

'Did what hurt?' I was exasperated with her, with myself.

'When she died?'

'Of course it hurt!' I snapped, misunderstanding,
Wrapped up in myself. I strode off.

A month or so after that, when I next went to the beach, she wasn't there.
Feeling guilty, ashamed, and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up
to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the door. A drawn looking
young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door.

'Hello,' I said, 'I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your little girl today
and wondered where she was.'

'Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy spoke of you so much.
I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance,
please, accept my apologies.'

'Not at all -- she's a delightful child.' I said, suddenly realizing
that I meant what I had just said.

'Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had leukemia.
Maybe she didn't tell you.'

Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch my breath.

'She loved this beach, so when she asked to come, we couldn't say no.
She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days.
But the last few weeks, she declined rapidly...' Her voice faltered, 'She left
something for you, if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment
while I look?'

I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say to this lovely young
woman. She handed me a smeared envelope with 'MR. P' printed in bold
childish letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues -- a
yellow beach, blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed:

A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had almost forgotten to love
opened wide. I took Wendy's mother in my arms. 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,
I'm so sorry,' I uttered over and over, and we wept together. The precious little
picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six words -- one for each year
of her life -- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and undemanding love.

A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the color of sand
-- who taught me the gift of love.


NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert Peterson. It happened over 20 years ago and the incident changed his life forever. It serves as a reminder
to all of us that we need to take time to enjoy living and life and each other.

Life is so complicated; the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas
can make us lose focus about what is truly important
or what is only a momentary setback or crisis.

This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug, and by all means,
take a moment... even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.

My Prayer For Today (From The Perfect Love by Ruth Myers)

Dear Lord,

I quietly leave in Your hand each concern that could cause me stress today:

The things You want me to do and the things You want me to leave unfinished or even unstarted.

The relationships You want me to have and the one You want to withhold or take away.

The joys You will bring my way, and the trials you will allow or send.

The ways You want me to succeed and the ways You may let me fail, or seem to fail.

The opportunities You want me to accept and the ones You want me to pass up.

The doors You want to open and the one You want to close.

The ways I would like to glorify You and the ways You may use others instead of me.

The times You want me to meet people's needs actively, and the times You want me to listen, or to stand aside and "merely" pray.

The deadlines You want me to meet and the one You want me to miss.

The results of my labors - great or small, noticed or hidden.

The ways I will bless or disappoint other people, and the ways they will bless and disappoint me.

The human approvals that You will give, and the disapprovals that will prod me to rest in Your gracious evaluation.

I leave it all quietly to You, my God, and depend on You to work in me and in those I love: to nurture and protect, to tear down and to build up, to wound and to heal, to reprove and to guide - as it seems best to You, my wise and loving Father.

I step out of Your shoes and leave Your responsibilities to You.

I let my life drop back behind You, to follow at the pace You prescribe. Help me sense inner tension quickly and then "leave it all quietly to You."

I am Your servant. I'm available to You to fulfill Your purposes, and Yours alone. Your way and time.

AMEN

Here's to good friends, who I couldn't do without...
You're important to me, that's without a doubt!

My MPRI Experience

Week 9 – Treatment #38 – Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Today, I got up around 7:20 a.m. I had a couple of bowls of cereal and a couple cups of coffee. I went to the morning devotional time at 8 a.m. then talked to a few folks and then went back to my room and did some of my daily devotionals. I had some chicken soup for lunch and then started working on identifying some of the pictures I had taken or gotten from George. I will probably be working on photos for quite a while. I walked over for my 4 p.m. treatment and finished up treatment #38. I will be home before I know it.

After I my treatment, I picked up the latest fax that was sent to the AT&T Disability Center. My doctor wrote up a report that releases me to go back to work on Monday, October 6th. I followed up the fax with a voice mail to the DSC (Disability Service Center). Keith was out of the office for an extended period of time so I left a message with Patrice who was covering for him. So, I hope to have an official return to work date soon.

Tonight is our birthday party for Jill Berhman. Then, after that we have movie night. I hope to do some more work on my pictures sometime this evening. I did take some more pictures of the Jill’s House staff and volunteers today. So, things are winding down here for me.

Joke of the Day

Gourmet Reporter

A magazine reporter is traveling through a rainforest, in search of a fabled cannibalistic tribe. He falls into a trap, goes unconscious and wakes up tied to a stake with a fire burning slowly underneath him.

He cries out for help, and is answered by what is obviously one of the tribesmen, who informs him that he is going to be served as dinner to the leader of the tribe.

"But you don't understand!" he cries, "You can't do this to me! I'm an editor for the New Yorker magazine!"

"Ah," replies the tribesman, "Well look on the bright side. Soon you will be editor-in-chief!"

How about this one?

Blonde - Two Coats

A blonde decides to show her husband that despite what everyone says, blondes really are smart.
While her husband is at work, she decides that she is going to paint the living room in their house. So the next day as soon as he leaves, she gets down to the task at hand.

Her husband arrives home after work and smells the distinctive smell of paint. He walks into the living room and finds his wife lying on the floor in a pool of sweat. He notices that she is wearing a parka and a mink. He asks her what she is doing. She replies that she wanted to prove to him that not all blonde women are dumb and she wanted to do it by painting the room.

He says that he was impressed at the good job she had done, but what's with her wearing the two coats?
She replies that she was reading the directions on the paint can and they said, ''FOR BEST RESULTS, PUT ON TWO COATS!''

My MPRI Experience

Week 9 – Treatment #37 – Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Today, I got up around 7 a.m. and went down for breakfast. ((Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I did get dressed first!) After eating my two bowls of Cheerios, I went in for our 8 a.m. morning Bible Study time (my second one). We had a good session and talked about today being Bud Howard’s 81st birthday. Also, tomorrow evening we are supposed to be having a memorial party for Jill Berhman. So, there are a few things going on this week.

We also talked about trying to get some of the pictures of the residents together so that folks coming into Jill’s House in the future would be able to see some of the original residents and get a sense of the history behind Jill’s House. So, I will be working on trying to get some of my pictures ready today. I also got assigned to lead the devotional time on Friday. So, I will be working on that in the next couple days. I also hope to get my daily devotional done and also to start on my men’s small group Bible study started today and completed before I head home. So, I will have plenty to do again this week. I am pretty much set for my 5th Grade Boys Sunday School class since we cancelled services last week. But, I will try to look at that again too. My treatments the rest of the week are at 4 p.m. except Friday when it is at 11 a.m. Today, I plan on taking over some gourmet jelly beans for the MPRI folks.

Tonight, I got a special assignment from Bud Howard, the chairman of the board of Jill’s House. I guess he figured I needed something to keep me out of trouble. Bud had a big box of left over nuts, bolts, screws, and miscellaneous fashioners. He decided they should all be sorted out so he bought two large plastic contains with about 60 plastic drawers each and asked me to sort everything out. I told him I would take care of it. So, I carried them over to the dining area and set them off the side on a table. I told several folks about them and hope that they will be able to take of that little task. I plan on spending a lot of time trying to get some pictures updated and a Jill’s House picture album started and maybe even see if I can do a video or PowerPoint presentation. I will see how much time I have. Tomorrow night, we are supposed to be having a Jill’s Birthday party. I happened to wonder into Brian’s office when they were working on that and got drafted into making a flyer with a couple of pictures of Jill on it. I did that right before my 4 p.m. treatment.

Loyd, Winnie, and Me

This is a cute story about Loyd, Winnie, and me. Winnie is Loyd’s girlfriend who is visiting this week from Wyoming. Winnie is a young 83 years old and thinks the world revolves around Loyd. The first time Winnie and I met was this Monday morning. When I came down for breakfast, I saw Loyd and said “Hi, Loyd!” and went over and gave him a big hug! Then, I said a couple words which I cannot remember. But before I knew it, Winnie had gotten up from the table and told Loyd she was going back to his room. Loyd yelled Winnie WAIT! Anyway, I guess she was a little upset by something I had done.

The next couple times I saw her that day, she would go over and grab a hold of Loyd and say “He’s mine!” She told me that she told Loyd to lock his room door! Anyway, she was very concerned all day Monday. I saw her today in the lunch room and she said she had finally figured “it” out. She said that the treatments must be making us men act like women. Well, she took special comfort in that and had a complete turn around concerning me. She told me to take care of Loyd after she left on Monday. I told her I would take care of him for a couple days but then I would be leaving Jill’s House on Thursday morning. But I told Winnie I would find someone to take care of Loyd when I left.

During our conversation, Winnie asked me something about what I did (I think she thought I was retired!) I told her I still had to work to pay for their social security. She told me they were both 83 but she was older than Loyd. Lody said he liked younger women. Winnie mentioned that she had lots of money. So, I told Loyd now I knew what he was up to, he was dating Winnie for her money.

I saw Winnie over at MPRI since Loyd had his treatment the same time as me. She asked me how long it took me to walk over to MPRI. I said ten minutes. She said they made it in 7! We talked for a few minutes. Then, she apologized if she had hurt my feeling. It was kind of cute. Then, she said she just had not met any LIKE ME in her 83 years!!! Hum! I am not sure that was a compliment. Winnie told me that she had to use a chair to get into bed at night while at Jill’s house since the beds were so high. At some time, I think Loyd had asked about some of the folk’s addresses.

At supper tonight, I was telling Julio, Angelina, and John about how Winnie was really mad at me for a day but seemed to be warming up to me know. Someone mentioned that I might get a hug some day. I said I did not think they would need to worry about that. Angelia wanted to mail a package to Zack and asked me to read the address for her from our address book as it was kind of hard for her to read. I told her I had an address list and would print off a copy for her. I also had mentioned to Susan about Winnie’s problem getting into bed. She said there was a two step stool that Zack used to get into bed that we could use. I reformatted the address list and printed off three copies. I gave one to Angelina and took the other one to Loyd. He said that is just what he needed. Then, I told Winnie I had something for her. Then, I took over the stool that I had found in the laundry closet. She said she appreciated that and then gave me a big hug! Isn’t God good? And He has a great sense of humor, too!


Joke of the Day

Smoking in the Rain

Two old ladies were waiting for a bus and one of them was smoking a cigarette. It started to rain, so the old lady reached into her purse, took out a condom, cut off the tip and slipped it over her cigarette and continued to smoke.

Her friend saw this and said, "Hey that's a good idea! But, what is that thing you put over your cigarette?"

The other old lady said, "It's a condom."

"A condom? Where do you get those?"

The lady with the cigarette told her friend that you could purchase condoms at the pharmacy. When the two old ladies arrived downtown, the old lady with all the questions went into the pharmacy and asked the pharmacist if he sold condoms. The pharmacist said yes, but looked a little surprised that this old woman was interested in condoms, so he asked her, "What size do you want?"

The old lady thought for a minute and said, "One that will fit a Camel."

My MPRI Experience

Week 9 – Treatment #36 – Monday, September 15, 2008

Today, I picked Ed up from Betsey’s house shortly before 7 a.m. and then we headed to Bloomington. We got here in a little over 4 hours. Gas prices are over $4 in Illinois and Indiana. I think it is $4.15 here in Bloomington. I ate lunch and chatted some in the dining room. I walked over to MPRI about 3 p.m. for my 4 p.m. treatment. Right before I got there, Courtney called and told me they were down. So, I stayed there for a while and chatted with the folks. I picked up my treatment schedule since I had misplaced my original one and dropped off a package of runts. They were a big hit. The therapists had some extra time to enjoy them since the beam was down and they could not do any treatments.

Then, I walked back to Jill’s House. They are supposed to call me when they are ready for my treatment. Ed and I are supposed to be going out to a local retirement home where they have a cafeteria style supper and wine testing. It is supposed to be $5. So, that should be something interesting. I guess I will see if I get treated today.

We had a going away desert for Jill and her Mom, Sharon. After my desert, I went up to my room and got my computer so I could work on the pictures I had taken last week at Zack’s going away part. I think I took 85 photos. When reviewing my photos, George, Sharon, and Sara all wanted copies of my pictures. So, I ended up copying some of George’s pictures to my laptop and then copying all the photos to the others computers. So, we did a lot of photo sharing.

I called over to MPRI around 7:30 p.m. They said they would call me back after getting there current patient treated. They called me back and told me to plan on a 9 P.M. treatment. So, I went over to MPRI around 8:30 p.m. and got my treatment shortly before 9 P.M. Courtney, Amy, and Jenna (my three favorite women) were there. Even though it was late, I was glad to finally get my treatment in. I felt sorry that the therapists had to work so late since some of them had been in since 7:30 a.m. that morning.

Ed got called for his treatment at 6:30 p.m. so we did not make it to the wine testing. We had talked about going to Smokin’ Jacks instead. But, then, I found out that my treatment was at 9 P.M. so we decided to just eat in. We are stilling planning on riding home again this weekend.

Joke of the Day (from George)

A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-gebra is a problem for us," the Attorney General said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns,' but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle.'''
When asked to comment on the arrest, Senator Obama said, "If God had wanted us to have better Weapons of Math Instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes." Democratic leaders told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the Senator.


Here is another:

Cloak & Dagger

A soldier at the Pentagon got out of the shower, and realized that his clothes were missing. While searching around for them, he accidentally locked himself out of the locker room, and he found himself completely naked in the halls of the world''s most powerful military organization HQ. But, luckily, no one was around to see him.

So, he ran as fast as he could to the elevator. When it arrived, it was empty. He breathed a sigh of relief and got in. When the doors opened on his floor, there was no one waiting outside. "This must be my lucky day," he said to himself. He was now only a few yards from his office.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from around the corner. He heard the General's voice. There was no way he'd make it to his door in time, so he ducked into the closest office available, and found himself in the laboratory for Research & Development. The Head Scientist looked up from one of her experiments with puzzled interest.

The soldier thought quickly, stood up straight and saluted.

"I am here to report the partial success of the Personal Invisibility Device," he said.

"I see," the Head Scientist said. "But the Shrink Ray seems to be working perfectly."

My MPRI Experience

Week 8 – Treatment #34 – Thursday, September 11, 2008

Today, I had my 34th treatment so now I am now to just 10 left and so after this Friday, I will be down to single digits. Two weeks from today, I will be packing up and heading home for good. That will sure be different. I took over another case of popcorn today for the Therapists. Today, I got up again before 5 a.m. and headed to the YMCA with John. Today, was a short workout day so I did not get in my swimming. I am almost down to fighting weight now. I almost quit my stair-step workout today since I hate that so much but I pushed ahead and finished my 30 minutes. I think I walked 3.39 miles on the stair stepper today. I did not plan on going to the gym tomorrow since I am driving home but I may go ahead and go since this would be only my 3rd workout this week. Since Ed is riding with me, I could always have him drive if I need to. I mentioned to a couple therapists that tonight we are having a going away party for Zack tonight at 7 p.m. Ben had asked about a tour of Jill’s House so I told him he might want to come over for that. Zack’s Dad showed up yesterday afternoon and so he is really excited to have his dad around. They will be leaving to go back to Kansas on Friday morning. I may add some more to this later today if I get a chance or if something exciting happens. I made it to my first morning devotional this morning at Jill’s House. We are meeting at 8 a.m. in the Chapel. I may need to shorten up my breakfast time so I can get in there by 8 a.m.

Joke of the Day

Grass Eater

A man was riding in the back of his limousine when he saw a man eating grass by the roadside. He ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

"Why are you eating grass?" he asked the man.

"I don't have any money for food," the poor man replied.

"Oh, please come to my house!"

"But sir, I have a wife and four children..."

"Bring them along!" the rich man said.

They all climbed into the limo. Once underway, the poor fellow said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us in."

The rich man replied, "No, you don't understand. The grass at my house is over three feet tall!"

How about this one?

The Three Basketball Players On The Roof

There were 3 basketball players, one each from IU, Notre Dame, and Purdue, standing on a burning roof in Indianapolis. The fire department came with a blanket and yelled to the Notre Dame player to jump. He jumped and they moved it to the right. He hit the sidewalk with a splat.

They then called to the IU player to jump. He said that he wouldn't jump. They said they liked IU better than Norte Dame. So he jumped and the fire department moved the blanket to the left. The IU player hit with a splat on the sidewalk.

Then they called to the Purdue player to jump. He said that he wouldn't jump. The fire department said they hated IU and Notre Dame. He yelled back, "Lay the blanket down on the sidewalk, and then I'll jump!"

Last call joke!

The First Cut is the Deepest

Once upon a time, two little boys, Sammy and Tim, were sharing a room in the hospital. As they were getting to know each other a little bit, Sammy eventually asked Tim, "Hey, what're you in for?"

"I'm getting my tonsils out. I'm a little worried," said Tim.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sammy said. "I had my tonsils out and it was a blast! I got to eat all the ice cream and Jell-O I wanted for two weeks!"

"Oh yeah?'' replied Tim. "That's not half-bad. So, Sammy, how about you? What're you here for?"

"I'm getting a circumcision, whatever that is," Sammy answered.

"Oh my goodness, circumcision? I got one of those when I was a baby and I couldn't walk for two years!"

My MPRI Experience

Week 8 – Treatment #33 – Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Yesterday afternoon, I worked on my daily devotionals, my Muslim 30 day prayer booklet, my ministering to Muslims booklet, my Men’s Small group lesson, and my 5th Grade Sunday school lesson so it was a full afternoon. I also started backing up using my free Dell Safe program. It ran for almost 24 hours and still has around 24 hours to go. I was doing some windows updates this morning and it blew up my computer. I just started it up again now. Once it has a full backup, the regular backups should be much shorter. I am only interested in a couple of my main files anyway.

Last Friday started our first wave of folks leaving Jill’s House. Julia and Web left on Friday; today Jim and Judy left; on Friday, Zack & Theresa and Randy and Lisa will be leaving. Early next week Jill and her Mom Sharon will be leaving. Then, in a couple weeks, it will be another mass exodus with John and I; Sara and Robbie and others leaving. Last night, Sharon invited me to eat with her and her family. We had chick and dumplings and they were great. Bob, Jill’s Dad, made most of the dish I think. Anyway, it was great. After that, I walked over to the local bowling alley for a good bye party for Jim & Judy. When I was just about ½ way there, Jim and Judy drove by and picked me up. We ended up in the bar for the first hour or so before they started bowling. I played a couple of games of pool. It was Emmett and I against Robbie and George. Robbie was about the only one who looked like he knew what e was doing. It was interesting though that Emmett and I won both games we played – or how Robbie put it – they lost both games – we did not really win. Anyway, it was fun. There ended up being around 13 of us. Ed and I got a ride back to Jill’s house with Sara and Robbie.

Since I had not made it to the YMCA for over a week, I decided to bite the bullet and go with John at 5 a.m. this morning. I am not sure if I slept any at all last night. I just tossed and turned all night. I even got up before 5 a.m. without using my alarm. John and I worked out at the YMCA for around two hours. I did my regular routine of 30 -40 minutes of weights, 30 minutes on the killer stairs, and 30 minutes in the pool. I “swam” a record 11 laps today. I feel like a new man (in an old wrapper). I got back to Jill’s house and ate breakfast (two bowls of cereal, a banana, and two cups of coffee). Then, I walked over to MPRI. I got there about 25 minutes early but had to make a rest stop. They called me in 15 minutes early.

I decided to try another one of my bathroom humor routines on them. Courtney came out to get me and said they could not find me. I told her I was in the bathroom. She looked kind of concerned and asked if I still had my water. I said yes. She looked kind of doubtful so I said “Do you want me to give you the details?” She said “No!” I asked who was “ballooning” me today. She said Victor. I said good – I have a story for him. When I walked into the treatment room, we exchanged our normal how are yous. I told them that I had having a problem with gas this week. I asked them if they has seen any of the hot air balloons that were flying around latterly. Anyway, I told them I felt like I had a hot air balloon at the bottom of my rectum. However, I was not worried about it since I felt like any slight poke would release all the gas. I looked at Victor and I think his balloon wilted. It was kind of funny to me at least. Then, when Courtney was filling my balloon with water, the end of the syringe came out and splashed water all over my leg. I asked Courtney if she had done this before (of course she has done this 1,000s of times and could do it in her sleep.) She told me she had done it once before. Well, anyway, I don’t know if I shook Victor up or what but when they did my x-rays, they said my balloon was not in far enough. So, they had to reposition it. I told Courtney, again today, they should not have a man doing a women’s job. Yesterday, Courtney had to take some air out of my balloon that another guy had filled with water. Other than that, things went fine. I kidded David again today about having a foot fetish since he has been playing with my feet the last two days. (They put a washcloth over my feet and then rubber band them together to make sure I do not move them around.)

So, now I am back at Jill’s House. I finished up a load of laundry and got it folder. I decided to get my blog updated and then will start work on my devotionals and then work on my 5th Grade Boys Sunday School lesson and then work on my other Bible study lessons.

Joke of the Day

Panda Bear

A panda bear walks into a restaurant and orders a sandwich.
When he receives the sandwich he eats it and then shoots the waiter and leaves the restaurant.
A policeman sees the panda and tells him he just broke the law. The panda bear tells the policeman that he's innocent and, if he didn't believe him, to look in the dictionary. The policeman gets a dictionary and looks up "panda bear."
It says, ''Panda Bear: eats shoots and leaves.''

If you think that was bad, read the blonde joke below:

Dead Mama

A blonde goes into work one morning crying her eyes out.

Her boss, concerned about his employee's well being, asks sympathetically, "What's the matter?"

The blonde replies, "Early this morning I got a phone call saying that my mother had passed away."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that. Why don't you go home for the day... we aren't terribly busy. Just take the day off to relax and rest."

The blonde very calmly explains, "No, I'd be better off here. I need to keep my mind off it and I have the best chance of doing that here."

The boss agrees and allows the blonde to work as usual. "If you need anything, just let me know," he says.

A few hours pass and the boss decides to check on the blonde. He looks out over his office and sees the blonde crying hysterically. He rushes out to her, and asks, "Are you going to be okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

No," replies the blonde, "I just got a call from my sister, and she said that HER mom died too!"


How about this one:

Bad Food

A Doctor was addressing a large audience:

"The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long- term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?" After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."

One last try:

A Zoo Story

A guy found a sheep and showed him to a policeman.

The policeman said, "Take that sheep to the zoo, now."

Next day the policeman sees the man with the sheep again.

The policeman stops the guy and says, "What on earth are you doing with that sheep?"

The guy says, "What is there to do? Yesterday I took him to the zoo and now I'm taking him to the movies."

Ok, how about this one:

No Arms and No Legs... Pile

What do you call a guy with no arms or legs lying in a pile of leaves?

Russell.

Man, it sure is hard to find a good joke – one last try (A dumb blonde joke:)

A car was driving down the street when all of a sudden it started swerving. The car was going back and forth till someone with a cell phone called the police. A police officer pulled the car over. A blonde rolls down the window and says, "Officer, I'm so glad you are here. I saw a tree in the road, then I saw another. So I had to swerve to keep from hitting it!" The officer looks at her, then says, "Ma'am, that's your air freshener."

You have to admit that was kind of cute!

Week 8 – Treatment #32 – Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Today, I slept in until 7:30 a.m. I was awake around 5 a.m. but could not bring myself to get up. I had a quick breakfast and then was off to MPRI. They were behind in room 1 but room 2 was in pretty good shape. I was a little late but made it through without any problems. Then, I had my doctor’s appointment and everything seems to be going fine. No additional problems this week so it is t – 12 treatments and counting. I know it will be over before I know it. I may try a quick Sam’s run today. John wanted to pick something up. I am not sure what I need if anything. Tonight, there is supposed to be a bowling party for Jim and Judy’s going away. Then, on Thursday, there is supposed to be a going away party for Zack and Theresa. I have not heard anything yet about Randy and Lisa’s going away party. It seems like we have a lot of new folks here or coming in soon. I think there were supposed to be five new residents coming in. Today, I helped move a new computer desk into the administrative office for Peg. I am going to run down to the lunchroom to see if there is anything going on. Then, might see if John and Loyd are around for our Sam’s run. Then, I will need to work on my daily devotionals and my 5th Grade Boys Sunday School lesson. I may update this if anything new happens the rest of the day.

Joke of the Day

HMO in Heaven

An eye doctor, a heart surgeon and an HMO executive die and are in heaven. God asks the eye doctor why he should be let into heaven, and the doctor explains to God that he helped people save or regain their sight. God says, ''Welcome to heaven, my son.''

God then asks the heart surgeon what he had done in life that should allow him into heaven. ''I saved people from death from heart attacks and heart disease,'' the doctor replies. ''Welcome to heaven, my son,'' God says.

God then turns to the HMO executive. God asked him what he was, and the man replied that he worked for an HMO. ''Welcome to heaven, my son,'' says God, ''but you have to leave in two days.''

My MPRI Experience

Week 8 – Treatment #31 – Monday, September 8, 2008

Today, Ed and I left St. Louis about 9 a.m. We drop together to Bloomington. We got here around 2:30 p.m. The drive sure seems to go faster when there are two of you in the car. I had a quick lunch (bananas and ice cream) and then headed over to MPRI. They were about an hour late so I hit the restroom and then drank my water again. My appointments are 9:30 for the rest of the week except for Friday which is 10 a.m. It looks like Ed and I will be carpooling home again on Friday but with me driving this time. I have lots of stuff to do this week so it should go quickly.

Joke of the Day

Just A Juggalo

A man is driving home, when is pulled over by a patrolman for a broken blinker. The cop looks into the guys' car and sees a collection of knives in the backseat.
"Sir," the cop says. "Why do you have all those knives?"
"They're for my juggling act," the man says.
"I don't believe you," says the cop. "Prove it." So the man gets out of his car and begins juggling the knives. At the same time, a car with two guys in it drives by.
"Man," says the first guy. "I'm glad I quit drinking. These new sobriety tests are hard.

College Grads

A graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
A graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
A graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much it cost?"
A graduate with a liberal arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

My MPRI Experience

Week 7 – Treatment #29 – Thursday, September 4, 2008

Today, I got up around 7:45 a.m. I went down to breakfast and had a couple cups of coffee. I put my milk in the freezer thinking I would have cereal after my coffee. I added some Mir-A-Lax to my coffee for my third dose within 24 hours since I had not had much luck during the night. I told people there was wind and rain but no hail during the night. I sat around chatting for a while and then headed up to my room. I order some Italy photos and then Loyd and I headed out to Walmart and Sams to do some shopping.

At Sams, I picked up some cheerios, ice cream, coffee (regular for the kitchen since we always seem to run out), some juices, fiber capsules, some bananas, and a couple things for home and a special gift for Julio and Angelina. My appointment today is at 2 p.m. so I am going to go down and eat lunch right away. I will probably have my breakfast cereal and my last banana. I forgot that my milk was in the freezer and so took it out when I got back from Sams. It was plenty cold that is for sure. I may update my blog later with more info and a couple pictures I have not gotten transferred to my laptop yet.


I just got back from my MPRI treatment. I got there over 30 minutes early but they were ready for me. I had not drunk my water until about 1 p.m. so they decided to wait 15 minutes to treat me. When I went down for lunch today, the lunch room was crowded. The Rotary Club had ordered around 50 lunches for their big meeting here at Jill’s House. The only problem was that the meeting was scheduled for next week. So, everyone had a free box lunch meal. There were ham, turkey, roast beef, and vegetarian meals. There were lots left over so I took seven of them over to MPRI.

When Courtney came out to get me, she said room 2 was a little smelly. The four therapists in that room had gone out for Mexican for lunch. I took Courtney that was ok. I had not had a bowl movement for two weeks. BUT I was working on a remedy. I said I had taken three daily doses of laxative in the last 24 hours and I felt like I was ready to explode. Courtney told that I needed to tell Jason that since he was going to do my balloon today. So, when I got into the treatment room, I told Jason that story. He did not seem to excited about it. I told them I was expecting to read about myself in the paper tomorrow with a head line reading “MPRI Patient Explores On Proton Treatment Table – Three Therapists Injured!: My treatment took about 30 minutes longer than normal. They adjusted my treatment area and then had some PC problems. Tomorrow, my treatment is at 8:30 a.m. and so I should get an early start going home.


Joke of the Day

Devil in the Church

One Sunday morning, everyone in one bright, beautiful, tiny town got up early and went to the local church.

Before the services started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, etc. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.

Soon everyone was evacuated from the church, except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving... seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don't you know who I am?"

The man replied, "Yep, sure do."

Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.

Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for over 48 years."

One more Blonde joke:

Blonde and Waitress

Q: What did the blond customer say after reading the buxom waitress' name tag?
A: “ ‘Debbie'...that's cute. What did you name the other one?''

My MPRI Experience

Week 7 – Treatment #28 – Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Today, I got to sleep in until about 8 a.m. I got to eat breakfast and have coffee. Then, John #2 and I went to the YMCA about 9:30 a.m. We worked out for a couple hours and then were back at Jill’s House about noon. I ate a couple hot dogs and then Julio and Angelina made some chicken vegetable rice soup. I had two big bowls of that. I did some work on my 5th Grade Sunday school class work and chatted with some folks.

Then, I walked over to MPRI for my 5 p.m. treatment. I got in right about on time. Jason was in charge of my balloon today. Jason told me to raise up my legs and then I said something like “my aren’t we bossy”. Then, he took my balloon back over to the staging area. I asked the therapists what he was doing. They said he was wiping off the lubricant. I said “Oh, my! I guess we are going to do this the hard way!” I told them that when John Shea came in next time to not use any lubricant on his balloon. I was waiting for my treatment to begin when the therapists came back into the room. They indicated that my balloon was not in far enough so they had to readjust it. They got my balloon adjusted and then I got my 28th treatment. My 5 p.m. appointment for tomorrow was rescheduled for 2 p.m. since it is my “cone-down” day. Tomorrow, they will start treating just my prostate itself. They will no longer be treating the surrounding ½” area so it should be a little better.

I walked back to Jill’s house where we were having a luncheon for four families that are leaving in the next week or so. We had lots of food and I probably ate too much. I had three different kinds of beans and two pieces of pie. I felt like I was going to explode. I knew that I needed to take something to try to loosen me up. Sara gave me some laxative to take to see if I could get some relief. Later, I talked to Angelina and she gave me some more of the same stuff. So, I have had a double dose of laxative. So, I am expecting great things in the near future.

The meal was a great success. Then, we started movie night shortly after 8 p.m. I got to the movie late but we watched “The Hit Man”. It just ended a few minutes ago, so I decided I had better get my block updated. I have not talked to John #2 to see if we are going to the YMCA tomorrow. I guess I can always check with him in the a.m. I am watching some of the Republican National Convention while I am updating my blog. I guess that is about it for today.

Joke of the Day

Hilarious Signs

Door of a plastic surgeon's office: "We can help you pick your nose!"

At an optometrist's office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

On an electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts."

On the trucks of a local plumbing company in NE Pennsylvania: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."

On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push."

Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."

In a veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"

In a non-smoking area: "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."

On a plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed."

Pizza shop slogan: "7 days without pizza makes one weak."

Over a gynecologist's office: "Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

My MPRI Experience

Week 7 – Treatment #27 – Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Monday evening I spent about three hours online looking for a new wedding ring. Linda, Jodi, and I had looked for one over the weekend so I kind of knew what my options were locally and so I decided to look online. My old wedding ring was near impossible to get on and off so I had not been wearing it after my bone scan before I started my treatments. Linda wanted me to wear it while I was in Bloomington so we checked on getting it resized. They wanted $90 to resize it and I thought I would prefer just getting a new ring as my old one was worn down and very plain. So, I decided to look online. I first started out looking at tri-tone gold rings because I really liked them. After looking at them, I decided what I really wanted was a Black Hills gold ring like the one I had been wearing on my right hand but was also too small for me. I looked and looked and finally found a couple I liked. It was hard to decide but I finally ordered one from Riddle’s online.

Here is the link:

http://www.riddlesjewelry.com/products/detail.php?area=clearance&page=6&productID=2289

I also liked this one:

http://www.riddlesjewelry.com/products/detail.php?area=search&search=41710D&productID=1750&page=1

I found this one and ordered it for Linda:

http://www.riddlesjewelry.com/products/detail.php?area=search&search=KG1530D&productID=661&page=1

I was thinking about getting my old Black Hills Gold ring resized but I may end up ordering another one from Riddle’s as they are having a great close out sale. Here is the link in case you are interested:

http://www.riddlesjewelry.com/products/clearance.php

So, I ended up ordering a wedding ring for me last night and a matching one for Linda to wear with her diamond ring. So, I should be set for the next 30 years.
Today, I slept in until 8 a.m. That was GREAT! I got up and went down for breakfast. I has a few raisins left over from last night and one of my bananas along with my 16 ounces of water. No coffee or cereal today. I got to chat with Zack and his mother. Theresa said they got good news last week in that the cancer spot that they had stopped treating had shrunk per the MRI that Zack had. He is supposed to have another MRI I think on Wednesday and they are hoping for more good news. Zack showed me a new John Deere flashlight that he got and a John Deere measuring tape.

By that time, I needed to head over to MPRI. I wanted over again this morning. Things went very well (no sudden urges). I got taken back right about on time and actually got a gown that covered everything for a change. Amy, my 14 year-old looking therapist, got the balloon duty this morning. How embarrassing! Anyway, my treatment #27 was pretty quick and uneventful. I met another Jason today. I was in treatment room #3 today but am moving to treatment room #2 for the rest of the week. I am looking forward to treatment #29 when the ratchet down the circumference of the treatment and only treat the prostate and not the extra ½” surrounding area.

Jeff did the preliminary questioning prior to my doctor’s consultation. This time I was weighted without my thong and I weighed in at 196 (about 4 pounds less than last time). I told Jeff I did not realize that those thongs weighted that much. My interview was very normal (as normal as it gets with me anyway). No new symptoms to speak of. Jeff took my blood pressure and said I had the blood pressure of an 18 year old. I said that instead of having a body of an 18 year old, I probably had the mind of an 18 year old.

Dr. Fitzek asked how I was doing and I said everything was fine. He checked me for “red” spots on my hips and actually showed me an outline of where the proton radiation was entering my body. I had not seen that before. So, that was about it for my treatment today. So, I am free the rest of the day. I may go down for lunch in a few minutes (around 1 p.m. EST).

I need to update a few pictures (a new one of Debbie and another one of Traci) and run down my joke of the day. Traci seems to love having photos of her on my blog. I did find out a couple interesting things today. Traci moved into a new condo over the weekend. Lauren and her boyfriend are moving to Oklahoma City in early October where they have bought a house. A new proton facility is being setup there and Lauren’s boyfriend actually helped setup one of the treatment rooms here in Bloomington so he has the technical expertise. Lauren is going there to help setup the treatment processes. They bought a nice old 1910 vintage house and are really excited. I found out Traci was from the OKC area. I thought there was something familiar about her walk. 

Oh, year, I forgot to mention that I took over a container of Belgium chocolate cookies. I left some at the front desk with Connie and took the rest back to the therapists. I know Traci likes them. I think she is trying to broaden her horizons.

Joke of the Day

Religious Nuts
There were four country churches in a small Texas town: The Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church and the Catholic Church. Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels.

One day, the Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and consideration they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will.

In the Baptist Church the squirrels had taken up habitation in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistery and drown the squirrels in it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the next week.

The Methodist Church got together and decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the Squirrels and set them free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.

But -- The Catholic Church came up with the best and most effective solution. They baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

In case you did not like that one, here is one that is worse:

Beer Brothers
A man walks into a pub and says, "Give me three pints of Guinness, please."
So the bartender brings him three pints and the man proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they're gone.

He then orders three more and the bartender says, "Sir, I know you like them cold, so you can start with one and I'll bring you a fresh one as soon as you're low."

The man says, "You don't understand. I have two brothers, one in Australia and one in the States. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night we'd still drink together. So right now, my brothers have three Guinness Stouts too and we're drinking together."

The bartender thinks it's a wonderful tradition and every week he sets up the guy's three beers as soon as he enters in the bar. Then one week, the man comes in and orders only two. He drinks them, then orders two more. The bartender sadly says, "Knowing your tradition, I'd just like to just say that I'm sorry that one of your brothers died."

The man replies, "Oh, my brothers are fine - I just quit drinking."

If you think that was bad, try this one:

Pig in a Bar

A lady goes into the Upland Bar with her goose. Then the bartender comes up to her and says, "Why did you have to bring the pig in with you?"

Then the lady answered, "Excuse me, I think this is a goose."

And the bartender says, ''Excuse me, I was talking to the goose.''


Here is a terrible one:

A Multiple Hot Foot

Did you hear about the shoe factory that burnt down?

Two hundred soles were lost.

My MPRI Experience

Week 6 – No Treatment – Saturday, Sunday, Monday, August 30, 31, and September 1, 2008

Linda and Jodi make it here on Friday about 4:30 p.m. I don’t remember all the stuff we did but I think we went to D’Angelos’ Friday evening for Italian food. The food was really good and we had some leftovers to take home. Friday night we watched a movie and I worked on fixing the harddrive on my laptop and getting the software installed.

Saturday morning, Linda & I got up and went to the Uptown Café for breakfast. The food was ok – nothing spectacular. I like the omelets better at IHOP. But it was good to experience some of the local flavor. Then, we went to the Farmer’s Market. They had lots of stuff but we did not end up buying anything. Then, we went back Jill’s House to pick up Jodi. After picking up Jodi, we went to the Annual Craft show. There were lots of venders who had some interesting stuff. Jodi bought a home made cutting board and Linda bought some light pull chains.

The girls ate lunch at the Casablanca Café. I think it was Ethiopian food but I was not sure. They were very busy and the service was very sloooooooooooooooooooooow! We must have been there for two hours. After that we did some shopping. Jodi and I got some cloths and I looked at a bunch of different wedding rings to replace the one I have which was hard to get off and on until I cut it open. Now, it is much easier to get off and on but the duct tape I put on it gives it an Indiana Hoosier feeling to it. So, I have been looking to replace it. We hit all the high end jewelry places (Sam’s and Wal-Mart) but I have not decided on a new one yet. I do like the tri-color gold rings. Saturday night we watched another movie in our room.

Sunday, Linda and I got up and went to church at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. It seemed very much like the First Evangelical Free Church at home. They seem to have a much larger focus on the International student population than we do. I would hope that is something our church could work on. Sherwood Oaks had their annual International furniture give-away day. They gave away around 400 pieces of furniture. It has become so popular that they had to limit it to first time international students. What a great witnessing opportunity.

After church, we ate lunch at O’Charleys. We stopped by Sam’s and Wal-mart to look at their wedding bans again but I did not see anything I liked. I could have gotten a band for $48 but thought the better of it. We went back to Jill’s House and the girls got packed to leave. They left here around 2 P.M. and got home around 6:30 or so. After they left, I went out and swung on some of our playground equipment. Sara saw me and asked if I wanted to go to a band concert in the park at 6:30 p.m. I said sure so we went to a really nice local park and “listened” to the band from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Most of the crowd was talking and not doing much listening but it was a beautiful evening as the weather was almost perfect. I got back home around 9 P.M. Randy was watching the “Home Make Over” program and so I went back to my room and watched that. Then, I watched some of the 11 p.m. news and went to bed.

I got up at about 8:30 a.m. this morning. Boy, was that nice. I went downstairs and had some coffee with the boys. We chatted for a hour or so. Then, the women started to show up. I ended up out on the deck this afternoon for a couple hours. I did my small men’s group Bible study lesson and covered my daily devotional for the Muslims. Then, I came in and fixed some more leftovers for lunch. Now, I am up in my room updating my blog. I have to add a couple pictures to it that I took on Friday. Then, I will have to work on paying off a couple of my credit card bills. I do not have much of anything planned for tonight. I may go over my 5th Grade Sunday School class lesson again and get ready for this Sunday.


Joke Of The Day

Bush's Advisors

G. W. Bush was very depressed that people were saying he is stupid. So he calls his good friend Queen Elizabeth, who says, "Now George, what you need to do is to surround yourself with smart people. Let me show you."
She conference calls Tony Blair in and asks, "Tony, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?"

Tony Blair replies, "It's me!" and hangs up.

G.W. Bush then calls Dick Cheney and says, "Dick, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?"

And Cheney says, "Wow, that's a tough one. Let me get back to you."

So Cheney calls Colin Powell and says, "Colin, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?"

And Colin Powell says, "It's me!"

So Cheney calls Bush and says, "It's Colin Powell."

And Bush says, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"