July 7, 2009
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Today is a day for contemplating the landscape of our culture as thoughts move from Russia, where world leaders discuss the fate of millions, through Los Angeles where an icon of the musical world is being memorialized by vast numbers of people this very hour. It is highly unlikely that someone from either place will ever give a thought to, or place a foot upon this soil that I call “Sanctuary”. Beginning with Charles and myself, moving past Alphie, the fox in the yard yesterday, the doe and her fawns this morning and the gathering of birds sending their fledges off into the world, I believe this to be very acceptable to all of us who reside here. A single living thing is contained in a very small space, after all, and only a few remarkable people and/or events will alter the course of history. Whether today’s activities will season the future remains to be seen.
This last week I began hosting “leukemic mouth sores”, which are certainly in the league of “mother of all mouth sores” making the typical canker sore quite mundane by comparison. Tiny little holes appeared through the roof of the mouth, and these seemed to permit direct access to the internal structures of the face. At the start of this novel way to be sick, I realized that anything that had any kind of flavor or texture would send shock waves through my entire jaw, so I began a diet of water and Pedialite/frozen yogurt and cantaloupe. The melon didn’t seem to elicit the same reaction as berries, peaches, or other fruits. The doctor gave me a material (triamcinolone acetonide) that resembles wallpaper paste that adheres to the wet surface of the mouth while delivering corticosteroid to the tissues. Improvement is very slow in coming, though now I am able to eat more foods again. Other than that, I have some energy, Charles makes me laugh, Alphie is a real dog, and I can’t complain.
