Well, it's not going to kill you

Sights and Sounds of the day*

* this was written yesterday

First the sounds.  Based on the radio yesterday I found NPR’s website where they have this
  that shows NPR stations along you’re route.  Because it seems as if only country music, rap, Christian music and radio preachers are broadcast in the South.  Not only that I’m used to driving hours at a time and getting good reception from the same station.  Not so here.  If you’re lucky you get a few miles, most of the time you’re not lucky.  Also just how MANY country music stations can 1 market support?  In this case I would say MANY. MANY. MANY.

We headed off from Montgomery this morning.  Did get to explore because Larry was sick when we arrived Friday night and all day yesterday.  Finally last night he felt good enough to eat something.  It’s the story of our vacations one of us (usually him) at least picks up a cold.

But I digress.  We head off into the wilds of Alabama with NPR on the radio for the requisite mile.  Then it’s flipping through stations AM and FM.  This goes on throughout the day except when in range of NPR.

Best sound hands down, a little 2  - 3 year old having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa speaking with her Southern accent.  CUTEST THING I’ve ever heard.

The sights.  I used AAA triptick to map out all the routes we’re taking.  It works pretty well except for the spot in New Orleans where it had us get off and back on the freeway at the same exit???  Then today it left out a spot where the road comes to a fork and you must guess which way to turn.  We stopped at a gas station where a lovely woman in the parking lot volunteered to show us exactly where we should be going.

Through Alabama there were the obligatory rusty trailers with rusty and/or dismantled cars outside.  There were 2 wonderful old homes that must have been the main house on a plantation at some time in the past.  Too bad they were very rundown but you could see the beauty in them if someone had the money.  Lots of rolling fields of cotton.  And churches.  Big, small, super big and one big one being torn down because they built an even bigger one behind it.  It seemed as if they were everywhere.

Once you cross into Georgia the trailers are less rusty and the churches less frequent and ostentatious. 

Favorite sight of the day.  At one intersection on the corner a tank, yep big green tank decorated for Christmas by the way.  A few hundred yards up the side street a church.  A few hundred yards up the main street, another church.  It was priceless.  If it hadn’t gone by so fast I would have stopped and taken a picture.

Combined sight and sound.  It rained off and on most of the trip.  At a couple of points it rained so hard I could barely see and no longer hear the radio.  About an hour out side of Savannah I realize I’m voluntarily driving into a lightening storm, but I finally have a good radio station so I’m OK.  LR is sleeping, I’m grooving with Huey Lewis and News all is OK.  Then WFT the emergency broadcast system breaks in!  I’m not sure about you but I’ve never actually heard the emergency broadcast system live and in person.  It announces heavy rains, REALLY, and 60 mile an hour winds are forecast for the area.  Oh goody!  I’m on a dark road, don’t have a clue what the lie of the land is and the rain is there with me.  Luckily the wind never appeared, the rain tapered off and we arrived safe and sound at our b&b.

Some one please get me a glass of wine!

Wineloving in the South

Much to my amazement they actually sell wine in grocery stores in Alabama, at least in Montgomery.  We'd had some wine trauma in New Orleans ultimately paying $25.00 for a bottle of wine that would cost $8 at home.

Anyway I'm in the grocery store here in Montgomery and a security guard asks if I need help.  I ask if they sell wine and he shows me where it is.  He's so proud of their selection.  It's about half the size of the soda aisle at home and filled with second labels.  I couldn't bear to tell him what a real wine selection looks like.

For those of you who don't know second labels are wines from upscale wineries that produce various quality levels of wine.  For example Gallo of Sonoma which has bottles that run $50 - $80 has multiple second labels such as Dancing Bull and Turning Leaf that retail for less than $10 (except in New Orleans).

Driving Miss Cathy

Wow, I thought they drove badly in Virginia!  Drivers in Mississippi and Alabama make Virginians look like law abiding citizens.  We’re in transit from New Orleans to  Montgomery, Al.  I’m the designated driver because I love to drive and LR gets stressed out driving in new places.

Speed limit, no one pays attention except me.  I’m not going to get caught speeding in the South with a California driver’s license.  Probably a stereotype on my part but I'm not taking any chances.  Turn signals, apparently cars here don’t come equipped with them.  Pass on the right, hell why not?  Tail gating, they’ve raised it to an art form.  There's nothing quite like driving in abrupt stop and go traffic in a little Toyota with the grill of a semi filling your rear view mirror!

Later in the day.  We've made it to Montgomery but driving from Mobile to Montgomery I hear the newscaster talking about tornado warnings in the area.  Tornado warning???  I'm born and raised in Northern California I have no clue what a tornado looks like let alone what I should do.  I'm in the middle of nowhere Alabama not even an overpass in sight.  As I'm driving away from Mobile and the the warnings expire in a half-hour I decide to ignore them.  Give a an earthquake any day, at least I know to stand in the door way and NOT get under an overpass.

Happy trails to you.

aarrrgggghhhhh

3 days with no hotel internet!  And I have so much so say.  This is getting very frustrating!  People come a huddle in the lobby because we can’t get connections in our rooms.  Then invariably as soon as I arrive I hear, the connections been dropped.

I’ve resorted to typing up posts on Word so I can load them later.  I’m also trying to download a newer version of itunes so I can link my ipod.  No go.

I’m sitting in the lobby now every one who walks by asks the same question “are you connected????”  NO.  grumble, grumble, grumble.  One man just took himself out on the street to get a connection.

So this is Christmas

Christmas 2006. 
Hospital in Kauai.  Jello, popsicles, antibiotics, pain pills.  Sick, grumpy, sick, in pain, sick.

Christmas 2007
Time-share in New Orleans.  Quiche, pork sausage, hash browns.  Later sautéed mushrooms, salmon spread, chicken antioulle sausage gumbo, and crawfish ettouifee. Abita beer and wine. Happy Happy Happy

Merry Christmas to All and to all a good night.

Leftovers

Ok, I tried to write about this before.  The leftovers, remains, scars and
memories that remain after successful breast cancer treatment.

There are the physical scars from the tumor removal, the lymph node testing, the port insertion and removal and the tattoos from radiation.  Those will fade with time with the exception of the tattoos.

There are the mental scars – I willingly, ok so not so willingly, chose to run deadly chemicals through my body in order to increase my survival.   We know the short-term side effects of chemo but no one really knows the long-term effects.  I didn’t think to ask about them, as I was more concerned about percentages.  As in “if you do this treatment it will reduce your change of re occurrences by this percentage”

One of the nastiest side effects was nausea.  Starting the day after chemo and continuing for 12 – 15 days.  To say it was awful is a serious understatement.  I had the good fortune to have a doc who believes in drugs for both nausea and anxiety.  As I’ve found out talking to other women some docs don’t.  Their attitude is apparently “deal with it”.  May those docs have to live through it and “deal with it”   To this day whenever I feel an upset stomach coming on I’m right back in those very ugly chemo days.   It can become debilitating because it also connects with the bowel rupture which made me deathly ill.

Then there’s that little niggling emotional piece.  I had CANCER.  I.HAD. CANCER.  Me, I had cancer.  Those words are indelibly etched in my brain.  Along with there is a very small chance it could come back.  Now that’s WAY back in the back of my brain but it’s there nonetheless.  I refuse to let it taint the rest of my life, which is why I’m sitting on a sofa in New Orleans with my honey eating salmon spread, cheese, bread and wine.

Cancer did change my life, it will remain with me forever but I’m not letting it win.  Yes I had cancer.  I survived, it changed me, now let’s move on.

I’m sure I’ll revisit this topic over the years.  As the physical experience recedes, the mental and emotional perks through I’ll keep you updated.

In the way of all addicts

We haven't had internet at the hotel since my last post.  So my laptop and I had to venture out to find a connection.  Starbucks of course.

I'm  going to post what I've written and then we'll all be even.  Please keep in mind for some reason I do not get spellcheck on my laptop ???? so read at your peril.

Langauge

I'm sitting in the lobby today checking email and posting as I can not get a connection in our room.  We're between 2 big buildings so for some reason the QuarterHouse service doesn't reach the rooms.

It's kind of annoying but on the other hand it's a terrific way to people watch.  Larry and I both are observers.  The lobby of a hotel in New Orleans is a FINE place to indulge.  Southern accents, southern attitudes, Northern accents and attitudes all mingling in one fine place.  It's particularily interesting to watch older southern men deal with the young black women at the front desk.  They can ignore the bell boys but they must interact with the women of the front desk.

Scars and scars

I noticed for the first time in a while one of my radiation tattoos this morning.  It's right between my breasts.  Usually to my eye it blends in the the freckles even though it's black.  For some reason this morning it stood out.

Just like sometimes the emotional scars stand out.  That tattoo will be with me for life.  Hopefully the emotional scars will eventually get better.

Overheard outside Whole Foods last night

A gaggle of teenage girls talking and laughing (with the requiest (sp) Southern accents).  A car pulls up full of teenage boys.  The girls hop in.  Off they go laughing all the way.

Teenagers the same everywhere.