My next novel will be set during the Civil War.  Have to get into a different mindset.  Hey the hurricane was helpful in that respect.  Reminded of what it's like to live without electricity, heat, and running water.  

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66

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It is 4:50AM. I have hellacious acid reflux. I have consumed too many antacids. My rem ai ning option is to sit upright for a while with a cup of tea. I think it is helping. Chemo yesterday. I am now seeing a pattern to the first day of a cycle: i ncreasing fatigue and headache on the way home. Terrible headache and fatigue by the time we get home. Now reflux which is intense even for a seasoned GERD veteran like me. While lying in bed, it occurred to me that my body feels a bit like Route 66. Not the famous one. The infamous one. People who live near DC will know what I am talking about. Bill and I traverse this road to reach Georgetown University Hospital, where I am receiving treatment. I have lived in the DC area for decades, and I have never seen 66 not under construction. I am sure I never will. But, there is presently a new level of chaos which seems to have no limits. Early in the mornings, on our 90-minute drives (on good days), I am typically asleep by the time we are a...
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Take THAT Anxiety!!!

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Something that not many people know about me is that I have dealt with anxiety and panic.  I have been told that it is unusual for panic to surface so late in life, but I experienced my first panic issue in my early forties.  I knew immediately what it was, and I sought the help of a doctor.  I also devoured a number of books and listened to relaxation tapes.  I practiced breathing exercises.  I took the initiative and brought the situation under my control.  I took pride in the fact that the doc prescribed Xanax, and I only ever took it two or three times--and that was half a pill.  I hated the feeling it gave me, kind of like being a zombie. There is a misnomer about such attacks.  Perhaps panic is not the best description of what actually occurs. I saw a reporter on the TV a few nights ago.  They showed a clip of him in the midst of a panic attack while reporting live.  He looked down and appeared confused.  He stumbled over...
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Different Kind of Snow Angel

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It was a number a years ago, when I was going through the horror of divorce, that I first realized the importance of keeping track of one’s angels.  I’m referring to the wingless ones who show up at just the right time. At times I kept an actual list.  It came in very handy, and I would often get it out and look at it to remind me that there were still people who cared in the world.  Sometimes absolute strangers wound up on this list, and I would pray that they would somehow be rewarded someday.  Today my angel list is no longer a physical one--but I am in the habit of taking note when such people enter my life, whether long term or for a split second. When I was a kid, the bus stop was right in front of my house.  Where my kids are being raised, it is not that way.  I know many people who travel a couple of miles to get their kids on the bus everyday.  Seems a small thing, right?  Well, throw in work and bad weather, and it becomes a hard...
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