I'm off again

I can't sit still for 5 minutes so off I go, again, to London. I will hang out with the Bass gang again and go to the obligatory Footy game. This one will be special as it's Tottenham vs Man U at White Heart Lane (in London). I leave tomorrow (Monday) and Robyn will be joining us this Friday for a rather short weekend London visit. We are both really excited about the game and of course, spending time with the family.

The car was officially declared a "submarine" and consequently, written off. The sport court was repaired so things are mostly back to normal at home!!! Believe it or not, Diana and I are sort of enjoying this almost empty nest. We still have to hang out with Max. Having said that, it's still great seeing the Knoblets (kids) when we can.

Mike came home this weekend. It was good to see him again (even after 1 week). So far, he says school is going just fine. Diana's Laundry service was in full swing today. Even Robyn sent stuff home to be washed. No visit from her this time but I will see her Friday in London for an action packed few days. We will both return to the States on Sunday September 13th.

Carpe Diem.

Gomes does McDonald's

After 12 long years Trechtobal Gomes (prounounced Gomez) had his first hamburger patty from McDonald's. In case you didn't know, Mr. Gomes is Max, our dog. That's his Portuguese name. He has many names!

We took a couple of new printers to Rob and Mike at University and decided to take Max with us. He had a ball and on the way home we stopped to eat. Yes, I had something too!!!

Rob (Junior) and Mike (Freshman), best of luck for the new school year.

Carpe Diem.

Our very first family U-Boat commander

By Al "The Fish" Goldstein.

I had a day free in Louisville between trips, so I came to visit Adrian and Diana for a day and a half. I expected a quiet time discussing old times and trying to offer support for our friend. How wrong I was. This place is action packed. Ade picked me up at the airport, and we drove home for a happy reunion with Diana and Mike. Robyn left 2 days ago for university. She went back early so she could teach the soccer referees that she supervises at the school. I think that's so cool. Diana asked whether we wanted her to cook chicken for us, and Adrian stood behind her and mouthed NO so she wouldn't see him, but that I would get the message. Ade, let me assure you, is in very fine form, and despite the horrendous battles of the past 2 years, he is as funny as ever. He told me afterwards that he prefers to eat out rather than savor Diana's cooking. We met up with Mike and his mate Kevin at the hamburger joint, and had a darn fine meal. We came home, and chatted until about 10pm I had flown through the night so I was very tired.

At about 1am, even though, I was wearing earplugs, and the room was dark from the blinds, I was woken by flashing lightning and booming thunder. I was exhausted, so I went back to sleep until 8 the next morning. Adrian and Diana didn't. Firstly, their mad dog Max was terrified of the storm outside, and he kept walking over Ade and Diana in their bed. He was panting and salivating and Adrian was trying not to become annoyed with the clearly afraid dog. Then at 1:30am, Mike sms'd to say that he was with his friends, and didn't want to come home in the storm. The plan for the next day however, was to take Mike off to move into his dorm at university. Adrian had Mike wait for the storm to subside, and when he sensed that it was over, Adrian sms'd Mike to "COME HOME NOW, and to be careful of the water from the storm." I slept though all of this.

At about 2:15am Ade received a frantic phone call from Mike to say that he had inadvertently driven his car into a huge puddle (stream) that stretched across the road, that the car had stalled mid-stream, and that the water was rising in the car. Ade told Mike to get out of the car. Ade then jumped out of bed, put on some jeans and a t-shirt and went tearing out of the house to help is son, not knowing where he was exactly and whether he was safe. They stayed on the phone together until Ade located, parked next to the fast moving stream, waded poopick (shtritzel) deep into the water, rescued and placated Mike. He brought him home, and then with Diana, went back to the river to call the police who he had called en route. The car was now being buffeted around in the river, so the policeman arranged the car to be towed away, and for the road to be closed. Ade came home and fell asleep at 3am. I slept through all of this.

At 4am, the police called to tell Diana where the car had been towed to. At 7:30am, Diana's tennis partner called to enquire whether Diana wanted to play tennis. She did not. I slept through all of this, but I woke up at 8am to see Adrian working at the computer. He told me about the night's activities by telling me that Mike had become the Suskins' first U-Boat commander. Then he told me to look outside. A eighty foot tree had come down in the storm (that I slept through,) and it fell on the tennis/sports court. The branches and trunk fell onto the fence around the court collapsing it like it was made of paper. The court is destroyed.

The day was a lot less eventful. We took Mike off to school when he woke up at 10am. He has a beautiful room with a very tall roommate. They came to university well equipped for study with a 27 inch flat screen TV, two of the latest video game systems, electric guitars and a nice refrigerator in the room. It ought to be a most productive year.

This evening, we sat eating dinner ( a delicious dinner that Diana cooked,) and they came to the cold realization that they are now empty nesters. They had a good giggle about it, and that's how this day has been. Some pretty heavy incidents and significant realizations, but Adrian and Diana deal with this with humour and gratitude. I have really enjoyed being with them today, and leave this evening happy in the knowledge that their love and humor is intact, and that through this, they will win this battle.

Carpe Diem.

Wow

I just want to thank all those who donated to ZimKids via the GlobalGiving site. We have met the US$4000 requirement and are now 5th in the GlobalGiving bonus competition. A very special thanks to "the Large Asset" (meant well) for his incredible generosity.

Oh yea, it's never too late to donate. Hey, that rhymes.

http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/zimkids-feeds-zimbabwean-orphans-body-and-soul/

http://www.globalgiving.com/dy/v2/globalchallenge.html

Thank you so much.

Carpe Diem.

I'm sick of doctors

Today I met with Dr. Haile (the MRSA doctor). Everything looks good but he wants me to stay on the antibiotics for another couple of months. No big deal.

Then I met with Dr. Alikhan (the Heart doctor). My ECG was good and he has cut back on one of the 2 meds I'm on. The tougher of the 2. In a couple of months we will meet again and after a 24 hour heart monitor, if all goes well, he will take me off of all the meds. Yee Haa Ole.

Carpe Diem.

Chemo 4 (Round 6)

Another one down and who the hell knows how many more to go! Overall, a pretty good day. My vitals were all good and so was my blood work. The chemo went fairly smoothly and best of all, "Porky the Pig" has put on 10lbs. in a month. Soon I may have to start a diet!

In the afternoon we met Dr. Sadransky (the Mouseman). He briefed us as to where we were with the MouseSkin family and generally what should be happening over the next few months. Out of the 100+ page report he explained 2 relevant and important pages to us in detail. I'll be honest with you, I still have a headache from trying to understand all of this. It's both fascinating and very, very advanced. Lets hope the results will be good. The only interesting and slightly unsettling thing was that he explained to us all drugs have a somewhat limited time of usefulness. Simply explained, the Alimta and Avastin may reach a point where they are no longer helping me. Hopefully that is when they will have the MouseSkin study and trials ready. Plus, there are lots of other options available. Anyone understand these charts? Good luck!

Carpe Diem.

The celebrating never stops

Diana and I got back to Baltimore after lunch. I got a really funny card from the kids and a dozen red roses from Diana. I was treated to a P.F.Chang dinner that night and it capped off a really wonderful and memorable couple of days. The most enjoyable thing is I'm still here. Thanks to all of you. You know who you are!!!

Carpe Diem.

Friday and more celebrating

Friday was another wonderful surprise for me. My very good friends, Jack and Donna from Connecticut showed up for dinner. Phil and the gang prepared (well, had delivered) a really cool Moroccan dinner. With a beautiful table set and birthday decorations all around we all tucked into a cool variety of dishes. Dessert and cake followed and by the end of the evening I was ready to hurl from eating so much! Another great day.

Carpe Diem.

What a cool surprise

We got back to New York from London on Wednesday evening. I planned to stay in New York with Phil and the gang until Sunday morning (my birthday). Diana would join us in New York on Friday night and together we would all celebrate my birthday.

Well, to my surprise, Phil arranged for my mom to fly in from Boca on Thursday and she surprised me at Phil and How's apartment. What a cool birthday gift.

Thursday night we celebrated at restaurant around the corner from the apartment. Hannah and Lil joined Phil, How, my mom and me.

Carpe Diem.

ZimKids appeal

Hi All,

In the years since Dennis founded Zimkids, an orphan project in Zimbabwe, he’s struggled mightily not to hit up friends for financial support. But in his efforts to put the group on a firmer financial footing, he’s just been offered a tremendous opportunity that demands that we reach out for help. Globalgiving is an Internet charity site that holds real promise of ongoing financial support to small projects like Zimkids. A month or so ago, Zimkids was selected as a potential participant and we managed to get through their “due diligence.” But to earn a permanent place, we need at least 50 people to donate a total of at least $4000 to Zimkids via global giving over the next month. So we are turning to you all.

Many of you have already been extremely generous with Zimkids, so we are somewhat abashed about holding out the begging bowl. But if you could find a way to make a small donation – even $10 or $20 – and/or pass along this email to family and friends who might be willing to help out, we would be extremely grateful.

Over the past year, the number of orphans Zimkids is feeding has skyrocketed from 60 to 160, at the very moment that food prices have almost doubled. So securing a permanent place on globalgiving.com is incredibly important just now. It’s tax-deductible – and easy, just go to:

http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/zimkids-feeds-zimbabwean-orphans-body-and-soul/

If anyone wants more information about Zimkids, go to the website at:

http://www.zimkids.com

And, again, THANK YOU on behalf of Zimkids and all involved with the orphans of Pumula.
Warmest regards,
Adrian.

Carpe Diem.