KFC=Komen's on Effing Crack

There are no words.....


http://ww5.komen.org/KomenNewsArticle.aspx?id=6442452002

Nothing says CURE like Giant Pink buckets overflowing with greasy maltreated deep fried Chicken.

OK, apparently there ARE words....

My Dad

Things my Father taught me:

*Sing. A lot.
My Dad loved to sing in the car and liked it when we cussed when we were little.
*Taught me to say "I am a GDI!" at the age of 4. When asked what that was, I would yell "A God-damned Independent!"
*He told me I was going to be the President..that or be the one child of his who would shoot him with his own shotgun for not giving me the keys to the car.
*A twisted sense of humor. When asked for his name at a restaurant, he would always reply "Max Sexdrive". He did this in the 1960's and 70's-there was no stopping him.
He was a classic.

Lloyd Oscar Yorker, 85, of Denver, passed away December 18th, 2008. Mr Yorker was born in Denver in 1923, the son of Alice Clark and Oscar Bowen Yorker. He attended East High School and upon graduation, was inducted into the 10th Mountain Division, 87th, L Company. He was sent to Kiska, and Northern Italy. Following WWII, He earned a Bachelors degree from Denver University and attended DU law school. He was a member of the DU ski team and also of the legendary Zipfelberger racing team.
During the Korean War, he was with JAG (Judge Advocate General) in Tokyo. He returned to Denver, married and started a family.
In 1961, he began working for NASA in the security and photographic security departments. He was in Houston at NASA during the Mercury and Gemini projects.He was incredibly happy to return to Colorado in 1967 and began working for the FAA in the Anti Air-Piracy division. Upon retirement, he lived in Breckenridge for a number of years and then moved to Aspen. He lived in Aspen for 9 years, and started and ran Aspen Trout Guide Service. He eventually sold the business and moved back to Denver but continued his fishing and guiding until he was 80. He was also an accomplished Nordic ski racer, competing in the Senior Olympics and winning several gold medals in the Biathlon.
Lloyd will be remembered for his sense of humor, his ability to see fish that were invisible to the mere mortal, and his love of the mountains, rivers, and streams of Colorado.

A Girl Could Do A Lot Worse

Many, many moons ago, I was getting ready to take off for Asia-one way ticket to Bangkok bought and paid for. It was a fun Summer hanging with old friends post college and every one's lives were heading into their eventual directions. We drank lots of beer, listened to music, maybe smoked something, and cracked each other up. The morning after one mass camp out, I awoke with a poem in my sock, which was one of the sweetest things I have ever received. Nothing happened that would have prompted such a gesture and I never really saw him much again but I have always remembered it.
The poet recently passed on and the world is minus a true original. And a sweet person.
Rest in Peace.

http://www.denverpost.com/obituaries/ci_10750959

Gerund

YO! Sarah Palin! Look it up......learn it.........use it.

You have lowered the bar so dramatically that I can barely recognise the language that you are speaking. I am completely insulted by your inclusion in the Presidential race. But since the Old man chose you, the least you could do is learn to speak our language.

ALIVE

In 1974, a book was published called "Alive" about the Uruguayan rugby team that survived a plane crash in the Andes mountains. They were there for over 2 months before 2 of them finally walked out of the mountains. I read the book over 15 times and became fascinated, (ie: obsessed, refer to my post of Jan 11). I was 11 years old and admit that I was initially drawn to the fact that they were reduced to cannibalism in order to survive. But after the first read, I realized that that truly was incidental to the story. While it allowed them to survive, they were all Catholics and were tormented by the decision they were forced to make. I became intrigued by the qualities in the survivors which led them to be either quite passive in their survival or to take action.

There is a film fest in my town this week and I went down to the Opera house to check out the line up and buy some tickets and saw that one film was "Stranded: I've come from a plane that crashed in the mountains". Yes, 34 years after the plane crash, the Survivors all took part in this documentary. I slammed down my 10 bucks and started counting the days. Today was the day. It was very well done and the film maker took care to have the survivors speak only as they experienced it all and not bring in hindsight. It was incredibly moving and the 2 that ended up walking for 8 days across the Andes are still remarkable characters. One man, Canessa, has a poetic way of speaking that will move you to tears. They went back to the glacier where the plane was, and brought their children to explain what it was like. It kicked my ass.

The good news is that it can be viewed on You Tube in about 11 parts: For part 1, click and then it will continue loading up the next parts....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ7eo5MaubI

I am not sure why I am so moved by their story but I certainly am. Being a survivor is not an easy thing. These men live with the knowledge of what they had to do in order to live and it is not as if once you survive, the rest of life is rosy-you are a changed person. And while you may have survived, others were not so lucky.

My heart goes out to Elena, one of my fellow breast cancer Survivors who was diagnosed with a recurrence of bone metastases 2 days ago.

Whew

Since the last post, I have moved back to my former town. My place is teeny but that is okay. I have too much stuff. I went through my storage space and took 2 TRUCKLOADS to the ARC, which is a local thrift store. I volunteered at some DNC functions and tooled around feeling the love in Denver before I moved.
I am loving the last Farmer's Markets and the organic peaches. I just froze a half a box. I can now ride my bike around instead of driving which I LOOOOOVE. There was a local bike and I ran into my oncologist who moved from Denver to a town about an hour and a half away. I informed him of my move and being uninsurable. He introduced me to a woman who runs his cancer center and she said "No problem, we can see you." And gave me her card. I cannot express what a relief that is to me.

And next week, I drive to Denver to attend a function at the Governor's mansion. We are trying to expand the eligibility for Medicaid for women with breast cancer. I am going to introduce the state representative who sponsored our last Bill. More on her later, my personal jury is still out on that one.

Life is swinging along.

Stretching the grey matter...

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the National Breast Cancer Coalition's Project LEAD. It is a very intensive learning experience, to say the least. It started on a Tuesday and ended Sunday at Noon. We had one evening off-the rest we worked until 9ish and it was INCREDIBLE. Normally this would wear me down but I was completely invigorated and proud of having learned so much.
Why is Project LEAD® important for Breast Cancer Activists?
Breast cancer advocates should play an integral role in all breast cancer decision making because they bring a unique and critical perspective to the research, scientific and policy review processes. Therefore, to be successful and effective in these areas, advocates have a responsibility to be prepared with the basic knowledge and background to critically appraise research proposals and policy initiatives. Others in the advocacy community look to Project LEAD® graduates to disseminate timely and accurate information, critically scientific research and evaluate research proposals.

We learned
Basic science, such as the biology of cancer, basic genetics, the roles of DNA, RNA and proteins and development of cancer at the molecular level;
Basic epidemiology such as biostatistics, descriptive studies, analytic studies, clinical trials, causality, meta-analysis and screening; and
Leadership and advocacy development skills and how to participate in the scientific community as a breast cancer advocate.

Today we had a meeting in Denver to collaborate with 3 other organizations to expand the Breast and Cervical Treatment Program. I am adamant that women under 40 who are displaying symptoms be included.

We shall see.

On a lighter note, I am definitely moving back to Aspen and am happy about it. I was on the fence as my Father has dementia and I hate to leave the burden on my remaining Denver family but I was encouraged to go. Plus there was a blurb in the Aspen Times Weekly saying I was moving back for the FOURTH time. I would be embarrassed NOT to. I am looking forward to my 877th move of my life. Yeehaw.