Day 24 (64.9%)

Today was one of those easy days to select a song, because of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s 1974 Déjà Vu album. It is not the most upbeat of songs but it does feature today's treatment number. 

4 + 20

Four and twenty years ago, I come into this life,

The son of a woman and a man who lived in strife.

He was tired of being poor,

And he wasn't into selling door to door,

And he worked like the devil to be more.

A different kind of poverty now upsets me so

Night after sleepless night, I walk the floor

And I want to know- why am I so alone?

Where is my woman can I bring her home?

Have I driven her away? Is she gone?

Morning comes to sunrise and I'm driven to my bed.

I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head

I embrace the many-colored beast,

I grow weary of the torment, can there be no peace?

And I find myself just wishing that my life would simply cease.

I even have a CSNY t-shirt from their 2000 tour!

Four and Twenty (Stephen Stills)

Next Monday is the last day of the first phase of my radiation therapy. The “cone down,” during which the radiation is more specifically focused at the precise area where the tumors were found, begins with next Tuesday’s treatment. I believe this means that some of the more annoying side effects of the radiation will be alleviated.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Rebecca

Day 23 (62.3%)

For many years, Barry and I enjoyed a break from winter on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. John. My health problems and the lack of advanced services on the island had made that trip too much of a challenge in recent years, but we maintain many wonderful memories and a soft spot in our hearts. Quite a few of those vacation weeks were spent in a lovely house towards the eastern end of the island near Coral Bay known as “La Bella Villa” (http://labellavilla.com/). Now we find ourselves anxiously waiting to hear of the fate of that wonderful get-away. It is hard to imagine just how devastating Hurricane Irma has been. From what we have read, it may well be years before the island is able to recover. I have been in touch with the owners, who live in Virginia and own two homes on the island, and they are still in the process of trying to assess the damage from afar.

Amidst all the incredible stories of people helping people, strangers giving so much of themselves to ensure the safety and well-being of people around them, we then hear the heartbreaking story of the deaths of at least eight patients a couple of days in the stifling heat of a nursing home that had lost power. What more can I say?

Meanwhile, my treatment continues, and if my songs and t-shirts can bring even a brief smile then perhaps they are worth it.

Love,

Rebecca

23 (Shakira)

Day 22 (59.5%)

Barry teaches his class at Mount Sinai early on Wednesday mornings so he dropped me off at MSKCC at 6 am this morning. My radiation treatment was scheduled for 8:50 so I worked the daily NY Times crossword puzzle and watched an episode of “Law and Order” (I am working my way through the first season) on my iPhone and they were able to take me in a bit early. I am just having a quiet afternoon at home and even managed to sleep for a bit.

Today’s t-shirt is from a 2015 exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden called “Frieda Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life.” 

Be well, all.

  

Love,

Rebecca

Twenty-two Dreams (Paul Weller)

Day 21 (56.8%)

We had such a lovely day on Sunday! We are so proud of Eliana and her parents, Simmie and Ronen, who created a celebration that completely reflected this very special young lady. I had a chance to share a few words, including

We are all here to celebrate you, Eliana, which means that we each have our own special insights into what makes you unique. You are definitely a young woman who marches to the beat of her own drummer. You will likely go through many iterations before settling on just the type of person you want to be and how you want to live your life. But whatever direction you may take, I have no doubt that you will pursue it with tremendous enthusiasm, because whether it is Minecraft or fidget spinners or sweets, when you love something you love it passionately.

I also played an old Carole King song called “Passing of the Days” that really speaks to the way I think about Eliana.

I am just grateful that I was up to making the trip and expressing my thoughts in person. Here are some pictures from the day.

This week I am wearing t-shirts from various museums. Yesterday was the Wildlife Conservation Society, which includes the Bronx Zoo, and today I wore a New York Botanical Garden shirt.

I managed to find a song with 21 called “21 Summer.”

Twenty-one Summer (Brothers Osborne)

Tomorrow is a relatively quiet day, just radiation in the morning and then some much-needed down time!

Love,

Rebecca

Day 20 (54.1%)

A somber day, for sure. What more can I say?

We had a fantastic celebration in Sharon yesterday to mark our granddaughter Eliana becoming a Bat Mitzvah. I will write about this and post some pictures in the coming days. Meanwhile, I need to catch up on some rest!

Love,

Rebecca

Twenty Years (The Civil Wars)

Day 19 (51.4%)

I am now HALF WAY through my radiation therapy!!!!!! Hooray!!!

For today I have chosen “Hey Nineteen,” written and recorded in 1978 by Steely Dan. This is a timely choice because band member Walter Becker died this past week at the age of only 67. His bandmate and longtime friend Donald Fagen promised to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band." 

Barry’s brother Rich shared a personal note on Walter Becker: he was a 1967 graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, as were both Rich (Class of 1965) and Barry (Class of 1969).

Hey Nineteen (Steely Dan)

Today’s t-shirt is from Bar Ilan University, where Simmie spent a wonderful post-high school year.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those of you who are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey as well as those now bracing for Hurricane Irma.

Love,

Rebecca

Day 18 (48.6%)

Today I have donned a t-shirt from the University of Maryland, where Dina and Aaron met as undergraduates back in 1997. Barry and I remember that first week quite vividly. We took Dina down to school and got her settled into her dormitory room, drove back to New York, and left the next day for a trip to Europe where Barry was attending a conference. There was no e-mail or cell phones back then but we had agreed that we would call Dina every few days (just to ease our minds) and that we would check our home answering machine while we were away. Within just a couple of days we started hearing messages from Dina that she was sorry she had missed our call but was out with some boy named Aaron…..the rest, as they say, is history!

For today’s song, we go back to 1963 when Bobby Darin recorded “Eighteen Yellow Roses.” To be honest, I have no recollection of this song, but I just took a closer look at the lyrics, and much to my surprise this turned out to be a bittersweet song from a father to his daughter:

Eighteen yellow roses came today
Eighteen yellow roses in a pretty bouquet
When the boy came to the door
I didn't know what to say
But eighteen yellow roses came today
I opened up the card to see what it said
I couldn't believe my eyes
When I had read
Though you belong to another I love you anyway
Yes eighteen yellow roses came today
I never doubted your love for a minute
I always thought that you would be true
But now this box and the flowers in it
I guess there's nothin' left for me to do
But ask to meet the boy that's done this thing
And find out if he's got plans to buy you a ring
'Cause eighteen yellow roses will wilt and die one day
But a father's love will never fade away
Will never fade away

Eighteen Yellow Roses (Bobby Darin)

How sweet!

Tomorrow I break the 50% mark! 

Love,

Rebecca