Things that are fun…..Things that are not…..

Fun: (Friday, 7-29-05) While sitting in the emergency room waiting area for three and a half hours with your daughter, (whom is the reason I was there this time), start pulling your chemo hair out and state “This wait is driving me nuts.”

Not fun: (Thursday, 7-28-05) Getting a letter hand delivered from the local police that you are in violation of some ordinance or another and you have ten days to either repair or tear down your garage. Oh, sure, no problem, let me check my appointment book and see when we can fit that one in. What? You say we can’t just tear it down, there is a whole set of ordinances that we have to abide by to even tear it down….. all of which cost money? No problem, let me look under the mattress and see what I can find.

Fun: (Friday, 7-29-05) Realizing upon taking a shower that you no longer need to worry about a bikini shave.

Not fun: (Friday, 7-29-05) The day after you get the stated letter above, you go into property tax default because the money you have set aside for property taxes has now been spent on emergency health issues that were never in this years budget and to keep the electric on.

Fun: (Friday, 7-29-05) Rubbing your hand across your chin and realizing that all those stray hairs that emerged a couple of years ago upon “maturity” just rubbed off in your hand!

Not fun: (Every day now) Getting your mail after medical treatments have been sought for a little lump or two or three.

Fun: (This week) Grossing your daughter out when she is eating by tugging gently on your hair and going “look at this!” (payback is great for all those years I got the “look Mom”……)

Not fun: (Currently) Realizing you are drowning and you aren't anywhere close to a body of water.

Funny: (7-27-05) Walking around WalMart, pushing a cart, turning a corner and bumping into an end isle rack with the cart, knocking the display down. While picking up the display and trying to get it back in place, you look at the items you are picking up and start laughing. It is a whole display of Breast Cancer Awareness Socks! I am aware already…..honest…..I don’t need socks to prove it!

The Good News!

The government CAN work for the individual!

My phone call to Senator Feingold’s office put the ball in motion. Senator Feingold was not able to help me himself, but with his actions, he did. He turned my problem immediately over to someone that COULD help me and they did so. She called me right away to let me know who she was, why she was calling and that she was working on it. Within twenty four hours she called again to tell me her success.

I now have a dental appointment with an excellent facility and an oral surgeon on Wednesday, August 3^rd! It will be an x-ray, exam, status appointment and then the work will be done in other appointments. I still don’t know the time frame, but I am so RELIEVED! I’m back on track in a forward direction again!

The place I am going to is one of the places I called on Monday. When I called, they were not able to do a thing for me as they are booked up until next year sometime. This proves that perseverance does work! It also proves that if you come at something from one angle, and it doesn’t work, keep trying from different directions. It just might work.

The dental work will end up taking longer than what will be good for staying on my schedule chemo wise, but there is nothing I can do about that. And it will be a long haul travel wise as they are a three hour round trip from here, but so be it! I can't begin to tell you how GOOD this news is and how good it makes me feel!

With everything that has happened since this started, I have to say I have indeed lost confidence in my treatment center and my doctors. I am being very careful to not burn the bridge, at least not until I have jumped bridges, but the bridge jumping is already in progress. I should have been more informed by my doctors and oncologist regarding my teeth and potential problems that could be incurred upon my receiving chemo. They all know I have bad teeth. It was brought to their attention more than once, including my needing a mouth guard over my teeth in each of my surgeries to keep them from breaking off any further. I stated to them several times that for some reason, back in December, my teeth started to chip away and break off. I hate it, but when I smile now, it is easily visible. So I know they saw it, as well as heard me tell it. Yet, they never showed any concern regarding this at all. (No, I am not a drug user, or anything even remotely close, that would cause them to break off!) No one mentioned that it is important to have teeth checked and repairs done before chemo. There are a number of other things, (some of which you have read about in my postings, such as surgery mishaps etc.), which all added up, are also causing me concern.

When I was first told I needed to have chemo and was told what chemo I would be given, my immediate reaction was to go to the computer and look everything up on it that I could. Then I stopped myself. I decided it would not be to my advantage to become immersed in information overload. Most importantly, I didn't want to set myself up mentally regarding "things that can go wrong" and side affects. So I didn't do the reading I normally would have. This is why I didn't discover the teeth/chemo relation myself. In hindsight, I have now done a bit of reading and found that the teeth/chemo problem is not rare. I also found there are some other areas that should have been addressed, such as the blood pressure pills I take, my beginning stages of osteoporosis, my arthritis and the allergies I have. All of these, in regards to my personal history, are well documented in my file at this health system. Yet no one has addressed them in relation to my cancer, treatments or chemo. Heck, they are the ones that prescribed the blood pressure pills over six years ago, did the osteoporosis test and have treated me for some of my allergies! Upon finding this information out, it gives me even more reason to be concerned about the care I am receiving. The facility that I am planning on going to appears to be a good one. Then again, the one I am with right now did too. I have done some research and talked to people that have been or are currently patients there. Some are cancer patients, some are not. I have heard many good things. There will be no way to know for sure until I have my appointments, but at least I feel that I am grabbing the bull by the horns doing everything I can to have the most positive outcome possible.

Regarding Senator Feingold? He will most definitely have my vote in every election from here on out. Not only my vote, but my recommendation to everyone I can tell. When he endorses other candidates, I will take a very serious look at them as well. Thank you Senator Feingold. Thank you to the wonderful lady who found me a space in the dental world. You have both restored my faith that there are still times the government does pay attention to the “little guy”. Senator Feingold, you were already a favorite with my husband, now you are with me, as well.

A Powerful Article...Please Read

I have some good news to post, but will be posting it later today as I have some other items that need attention. But I promise to update everyone soon.

In the meantime, I would like to bring an exceptionally powerful article regarding the world of cancer today, to everyone's attention. It is written by a lady that knows first hand what cancer is and isn't and the raw life that comes with it. She has posted the article, titled "Reflections on a Yellow Jersey", in her blog. I hope you find it as insightful, informative and well written as I did.

Reflections on a Yellow Jersey - by Cancer,Baby

Please stop by and read it.

Day 2 of Frustration.... Then A Change of Direction

It is a darn good thing I am not one to give up easily. Soon there will be a whole lot of people out there that are going to know this first hand! There are already quite a few!

I was back on the phones this morning at 8:00 a.m.. Doing what I need to do. Calling every dentist I can find now. Same thing as yesterday. Again everyone listened. That was it. People are getting good these days at nicely saying “no, sorry, can’t help you, but I sure hope things turn out”. They must have all taken the same darn Zig Ziglar seminars I did. Motivational niceness! Stay positive and hold your ground stuff.

SO….then I started thinking……doing this from the bottom up isn’t getting me anywhere. If the bottom can’t, the middle yes/no “men” aren’t going to be any better. Go for the top, lady, and lay it on the line. And that is exactly what I did. I called Wisconsin’s Governor Doyle’s office. Of course, I was not allowed to talk to him, but I left a pretty detailed message. Then, I called the senators. I started calling everyone I could think of in places some might never think of unless one, such as myself, is starting to get down right desperate. Out of all that? I have received one phone call in return, but this phone caller has stated they are going to try hard for me. So hopefully, tomorrow, I will have a better post to post. As they say, all it takes is one. And now I have “one” on my side. If that doesn’t work, well, you should see my list that I have waiting! I’m far from done!

But back to that “one”….. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Say a little prayer or two and pass that positive energy this way, ‘cause right now I need every thing I can get!

One thing that really helped today? Finally, after days and days and weeks of unbelievably hot weather, it cooled down today! Even rained. Is still raining! I was finally able to get the temperature in this house down to, hold on to your seats here folks, a beautiful 77 degrees! YES! Up until today, this house has been ranging between 89 and 93 degrees and I just couldn’t get it lower than 89, no matter how many fans I had going. It was like a wind tunnel in here. It didn’t matter. It was hot and it stayed that way. And the humidity? It is amazing it didn’t actually rain in here at various times. Believe it or not, with all of that, only one computer bit the dust. Pretty darn good! Today was such a fantastic relief!

Side note on the computer thing: It was my daughter’s computer that bit the dust. Major hard drive failure. You see, all of us in this house are geeky in our own way....hubby, daughter and me. (Hubby’s geekyness is my fault. That will teach me!) And none of us play well with each other when it comes to computers and we don’t share well. So we each have our own, brought to you of course, by the big geek…..me. They are all in a row in our living room. It looks like a blasted computer lab in here! They are not the newest or the greatest, but they work well! All run WIN98SE which some laugh at me for, but it does the job!

More good news for today….. my good friend, Sue, and her hubby, too, of course, lent me a car today that I can use for a while. I may not be able to use it for very long, but it sure helps out great right now! Thank you Sue and Louie! Sue has been a friend for years and has done so many absolutely wonderful things for not only me but my kids too. We were both “soccer moms” so to speak. Well, actually, she really WAS a soccer mom. I was the same as a soccer mom without the soccer part. Our kids are both the same ages, which of course means we were both pregnant at the same times. My due dates were both after hers, but I went into labor earlier both times. Imagine that, another two times that my body did what ever it wanted to. Yep, both of my kids were born premature. Just shocks the heck out of everyone, huh?

Looking back at things, I think I am starting to catch on as to why people are so amazed that I have such a great sense of humor and can always find a way to laugh, even during the most awful of circumstances. It is tends to be a warped sense of humor at times, but it is humor all the same.

On that note, I think I will go find something that amuses me and makes me laugh and then get some sleep. Tomorrow may be another long day!

Frustration with a bit of fear edging in……

Quick note before I continue on with the real frustrations of the day…..the shedding has begun. It started yesterday and is staying at a constant speed. I am avoiding combing my hair too much. Every time I put the wide tooth comb through it, it fills up. When I took a shower, it clogged the drain. It is still at the point that the average person taking a quick glance at me will have no clue. Granted it isn’t something I was looking forward to but it was not the major concern of the day.

No, instead my focus was on something far more important. Finding a dentist.

I got up this morning with a very positive outlook. I just knew that if I really worked at it I would be able to find a dentist that would either take Wisconsin Well Woman MA or would have a kind heart and work with me.

I started at a little after 9:00 a.m. this morning. I stopped at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon.

Times in between ranged from positive hope to not quite so much hope to “there has to be someone out there” to crying to depression.

I am really no further ahead than when I first started this morning. All of the people I talked to were nice to me and heard me out. Many were appalled that no one mentioned the dental/chemo connection prior to my first chemo. But the conversations kept ended up the same. They just couldn’t help me. They either don’t take Wisconsin Well Woman MA or are booked for months ahead (the normal was 7 months) or they are not taking on new patients or can’t help me because I don’t have money up front. Not one of the dentists took my number, which would have at least given me a ray of hope.

I did get a small glimmer, if you want to call it that…….a dental school said if I call at 8:00 a.m. every morning, they will put me on the emergency standby list. They really wanted to help me, but they, too, are swamped. The emergency list would be no problem and I would gladly do it but they are an hour and a half away. So I just don’t know how well this will work out. Hubby and I only have one gas guzzling not-so-good-condition vehicle that he needs to get to work in. Due to the kindness of a good friend though, I am going to try to work out the vehicle situation tonight and borrow a vehicle for a while.

Even if I get the vehicle situation worked out, I wonder how many mornings I will have to call before I get in. Will it be too late by the time I do? She said the list is long and the cancellations are few. If I do get in, I know they are not going to be able to do all the work I need in one sitting. Plus, I am supposed to have a blood draw 24 hours before I see the dentist to make sure my counts are high enough. That too could become a challenge if I am on an on-call basis.

What a day. A day of frustration. An edge of fear starting to creep in……..

I will start the calls again in the morning.

For those of you wondering what to do with your lives…… you just might want to consider becoming a dentist. I doubt the need for them is going to end any time soon. I heard plenty of stories today on how the patients per dentist numbers are way out of sync. And look at the good you would be doing for mankind at the same time!

New day, New Quandary

I am starting to become envious of the blogs I have read where at least 95% of the time everything from diagnosis thru chemo thru radiation and on went relatively smoothly. The ones where only an occasional glitch happens. The ones that even though having cancer sucks and the treatments suck and the expected (note: expected is a key word here) side effects suck, they get through it all. Not only get through it all but can still work at least part time. They even have bosses that don’t get rid of them after nine years because it is convenient timing for them that their one and only employee gets cancer. I am very happy for the people themselves, I just wish it would go that way for me right now.

For me, today brings forth a whole new quandary. Per my appointment with my oncologist today, I find out I can not have my second chemo treatment on Monday as originally scheduled. In fact, I can not have ANY more treatments until I get something done with my teeth. It was the combination of chemo, the chemo side affects and my teeth that caused all the problems that brought forth the emergency room visit, my near death experience and hospital stay earlier this week.

First problem: I have already had one chemo treatment. So now, to stay even close to schedule, the dental work has to be done quickly and I have to heal quickly. And if that doesn’t happen, I still get the pleasure of losing all of my hair and having to be very careful because of the chemo I have already had. Also, if I can’t get back into having my chemo in a relatively soon time schedule, the chemo may not have the same effectiveness. That is not a thought I care to think about.

Second problem: I don’t even HAVE a dentist.

Third problem: Reason I don’t have a dentist – I am poor and don’t have insurance.

On the good side: I am in the Wisconsin Well Woman Program. It is a great program for women like me, who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am very grateful for everything they have already done and will be doing to help me through my cancer and treatments. To everyone involved in keeping this program going and are involved in its workings, a big THANK YOU!

On the bad side: One of Wisconsin’s weak areas is in dentistry. Especially when it comes to the poor or uninsured. Even in emergency situations, such as mine has become.

So now I am fighting to find a dentist that will take me on a moments notice, pull two to three teeth, help me get another three under control in very quick fashion AND that dentist needs to be part of the Wisconsin Well Woman Program.

Odds on this: Close to zero. The few that do exist and I have been in touch with, are already booked through January or beyond and are not taking on any new patients. Regardless of circumstances. And some of these dentists don’t even have very good reputations or track records. They are simply better than nothing.

All other dentists want money up front. I don’t blame them in the least. They certainly have every right to feel that if they do a job they should receive compensation for that job. I know that is how I feel on a job. But I don’t have the means to give money up front. Heck, because of my current work and money situation, I can’t even make wild promises!

Yes, hubby did start work last week. He found that his age, too, was a problem in today’s employment market, but he just kept at it until he succeeded. It is a really rough job and the starting pay is not great, but he is doing well. I love him dearly for his perseverance. (Actually, I love him dearly for a whole bunch of other reasons, too!) He is working his butt off so we can start getting caught up on things. As far as medical or dental insurance with this new job, as is becoming all too common these days, they do not offer much. Then again, due to my current health situation, they would exclude me out anyway. That one is probably going to be a fact of life for me from here on out.

I feel trapped right now. So many things in such a short time span.

I have never been a money hungry person. There is quality of life that can be had quite nicely without lots of money and it is that quality of life that I love. By not allowing money to be the all important ruler in my life, it allowed me, as a divorced single mom, to be there for my kids as they were growing up. I had a full time job that was flexible hour wise. (That flexibility was a trade off though for not so great wages.) While the other parents were no shows because they were doing the Corporate America career track, I was there at the various school functions watching not only my kids, but theirs. I was able to chaperone many school field trips. The kids and I were able to go camping. We were able to do museum trips and other fun things together. Today, both of my kids are fantastic, intelligent, kind, respectful young adults. They both understand and appreciate the beauty of life around them.

I have always worked. I just never made tons of money. Has it been easy? No. Would I trade in those years with my kids for a lump sum of money instead? Never! The only place I seemed to have really messed up was not making sure I always had medical and dental insurance. Oh, I guess, retirement funds would have been a good plan, too! :>)

So, Monday, I will begin the phone calls again. I haven’t a clue how the heck I am going to figure this one out and find an answer, but I have to keep trying. My life depends on it.

If anyone knows of a kind hearted good dentist with spare time on their hands (like all dentist have just oodles of time of their hands....they generally don't if they are good ones) in the Southern Wisconsin area (Walworth, Rock, Milwaukee, Dane counties) please let me know! And because I live on the Wisconsin-Illinois border, I guess even one in the Northern Illinois area might work too!

And for those of you that will be starting chemo.... a word to the wise. Please make sure you see a dentist, if at all possible, BEFORE that first chemo session.

To Anonymous......

The following comment was left on my blog recently. For so many reasons that I can not even begin to list here, this comment means a lot to me.

"Anonymous said...
...as the fish walk by....may the angels wrap their wings around you and may you find strength and comfort...."

What incredible timing this message had. The angels were needed. And, they did, in deed, wrap their wings around me and protected me at a very critical time.

Thank you for sending them to me.

I hope to continue to find the strength and the comfort......

And those fish walking by.....thank goodness they can tread water!...... :>)

So, Anonymous, thank you for your kindness and your message. May the angels always be there for you and may they wrap their wings around you when you need them as well.

Rough week!

Well, ever since the first chemo on Monday July 11, things have not gone well at all. Just got out of the hospital today. Hope to explain more in time but to sum it up.....white blood counts went very dangerously low, so low that my red were at the point to start acting up in their own little mission which would have been disaster. An infection started through my body....actually started in my teeth and jaw and then spread into my neck, and glands causing my neck to swell up like mumps, making swolling very difficult. It also started going up the right side of my head. With the infection, I was running a fever that was picking up speed. To top it off the pain was excruciating....that will be number 11 on that board of 1 to 10. No that is quite allright.....I can claw the number onto the board myself so you can see it. This all climaxed in a trip to the emergency room as by this time I could no longer walk on my own and talking was getting incredibly difficult. They didn't let me go home....they admitted me to a special care unit and I got to be in isolation. I didn't mind. In fact, I can't really tell you a whole lot about that first 24 hours besides they were horrible.

Other than that things have been peachy keen! :>)

Ok and OK edited!

Today is Thursday, July 21, 2005

This was my original post on Saturday, July 16, 2005....BEFORE the spiral dive straight into hell, the emergency room visit and the hospital stay!

I'm back!

This is going to be a short entry. Still don't have all my strength back.

Chemo took me by surprise and really kicked me in the butt! Got blessed with some duzy migraines, one right on top of another! Major problems with the stomach which was probably brought on by the combination of chemo and migraines. Maybe the same thing with the extreme weakness. Everything became a major effort to achieve. Walking even became a problem. Did a lot of sleeping. And sweating. And uggghhhh oh how the smells are getting to me. They are coming at me from everywhere! Totally lost four days out of my life. That one pisses me off!

But, I wanted to let everyone know, I am feeling somewhat better today and I will be writing more later hopefully.

And, hell no, chemo isn't going to keep me down forever damn it!

Reflecting back on that post is very interesting to me.

At that point, I thought losing four days was bad! HAHAHA! Joke was on me. All told, I lost 9 days into oblivion! I really did think, on Saturday, when I started to get a bit of an appetite back and was feeling like maybe a little strength was coming back, that things were starting to look up. But within about 12 hours that took a severe turn and this time the spiral fall went fast!

Optimistic is great, but not always accurate! So from now on I will be gentler with that glass of fluid. It will be comprised as follows: the top half will be half air and the bottom half will be half fluid, the glass will be glass. It will neither be half full nor half empty. It will simply be. I can hold on to that for right now. I am fine with it. I will add more fluid as I go along and then never worry about whether it is half full or half empty again!

Today

Today has come.

Finally.

Today is the day that starts my path on becoming a survivor.

Chemo session number one.

I am embracing it.

I am scared.

Today will open doors to the rest of my life.

Today, I will start my decent into treatment hell.

Today will end at midnight, but the effects will last long beyond.

Today is a beginning of another chapter in my life.

Today closes a chapter in my life.

I am ready.

Tomorrow is already tugging at my sleeve.

More Tests and THE WIG!!!

They deposited more of that glow in the dark stuff in me today. I am really starting to look forward to Halloween this year! First they did the brain scan. They hooked me up to an IV that made me feel very warm for a few minutes and then it passed. It felt like a heavy duty hot flash. Then I just laid there, very still. There was nothing hard about this test at all. A few hours later they did the bone scan. Different room, different machine, different technicians, but still an easy test. They strapped me in so I would not and could not move easily. Joking with them I wanted to know if they were actually into bondage and found a paying job to be able to act out some of their fantasies. After being strapped in, all I had to do was lay there while the camera scanned by body. As I lay there, I did find out one interesting item. I am obviously claustrophobic. When the camera was over my head and upper body from the top, I had a very hard time dealing with it and started hyperventilating. I recognized it quickly and realized how ridiculous my reaction was. I knew I wasn’t trapped in any way. So, I concentrated on keeping calm and managed to get through it just fine.

After the tests, hubby and I traveled to salon to pick up the wig I had ordered a week and a half ago. I love it! It is a very inexpensive wig, but it looks really nice on me. It is about five inches shorter than my natural hair, so it comes to my shoulders. I was thinking about cutting off a couple of inches in my pre-cancer days. This just made it easier! Another bonus….. It is a perfect color. I won’t have to think about dying my hair to get rid of the salt and pepper combination! Once or twice a year, over the past few years, I would go through the dye or not to dye decision process. Often, the why bother would win. With the wig, I get a new hair style and perfect color all in one! Now I feel like I can still blend in with the human race as I go through this. It should work great until they turn out the lights and my body starts glowing in the dark!

Back in my comfort zone.....

I get to go see the “girls” in nuclear medicine again on Friday. It is bone scan time! But that’s not all! I also get to go back to the CT Scan room and find out what is really inside this head of mine. There has been much speculation on that one over the years! Just ask my Mom. I’m sure she will be happy to go back in time and discuss the idiotic things I did as a teenager. OK, OK, my teenage years were not the only time in my life I have done idiotic things, but it is the only time I care to admit to right now.

As you can tell, I had another doctor appointment. This time it was with my regular M.D., Dr. L.. She was in shock. No one told her that I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, let alone about my surgeries and upcoming schedule of treatments. I was just a tad taken back on that one. After all, my surgeon’s office is not only on the same floor as Dr. L, but in the same section of offices!

The results from my original mammogram, way back at the end of April (wow, that seems like years ago), were supposed to have been sent to her. I thought they were sent to her. I thought she had referred me to Dr. B, my surgeon. Obviously not! I guess they (whoever “they” may be in this case) decided the results of my mammogram were such that I should go directly to surgeon and forget any steps in between.

It felt so good to be back on home ground again. I think the world of Dr. L.. She is the doctor, who several years ago, correctly diagnosed it was my left kidney that was causing me to be so sick. That was AFTER I had been to numerous other doctors in various clinics with the exact same problem, symptoms and excruciating on-going pain. None of them could come up with the answer…..or any answer, for that matter. In fact, had I followed the advice of one of them, and taken the prescription I was given, there is a very good chance I would not be here today. (Wow, I would have missed out on the cancer diagnosis!)

So, it is the correct diagnosis of a kidney problem (a kidney that, in the end, had to be removed) that became my introduction to Dr. L. A pretty darn good introduction if I do say so myself. I have been her patient ever since. She is also the doctor that prescribed the perfect blood pressure pill that my system can handle and handle well.

She listens. She questions. She observes. She pays attention to the littlest of details. We discussed general health, how things have been going, the cancer, what has been done, and what has not. She decided I better have a few more tests prior to my receiving my first chemo treatment. I am in total agreement. I want to know everything I can regarding what is growing or not growing in my body right now.

Dr. L. is my comfort zone. And once again, she did not let me down. She reassured me and let me know she will be with me throughout this from here on out. I know she means it. This is a pretty darn good feeling.

A Booming 4th!

Saturday, July 2^nd, we went to Madison to see Rhythm and Booms Fireworks http://www.rhythmandbooms.com . What an absolutely spectacular show. The fireworks are set to music and everyone brings a radio tuned to the station broadcasting the event. Nonstop fireworks, many of which are very unique in color and display, and nonstop music. The newspapers are stating there were over 300,000 people there. Because we came early enough in the day, we found a great parking spot and a perfect viewing spot up on a hill overlooking the park. We didn’t see the ground show, but we saw everything else. When the fireworks started, everyone became so quiet. All you could hear was an occasional “wow” or “ooohhhh” and the stereo effect of so many radios at once. Great job to all those involved in putting on this show. We are looking forward to next year already!

Monday, July 4^th, we went to someone else’s house. Actually it was the son that invited us. (He is good friends with my daughter.) Not sure that he ever told his parents we were coming, but they were cool. There were lots of fireworks, bonfire and food. Nice mellow time out in the country in a beautiful setting. The fireworks display was anchored in the middle of the country road. It is not a road less traveled considering it is out where it is, so there were a number of interruptions, mainly the screaming of “CAR” throughout the night. And of course, the token unmarked sheriffs’ car meandered by, stopping briefly to ask the following: “Have anything illegal?” Now isn’t that a gun powder loaded question? Yep, everyone found themselves just rushing up on that one to volunter, “Why yes sir, would you like to come check them out? Here sir, want to take some home with you? Would you like a beer while you are here?” Geez, like everyone is just going to fess up to that question! Of course the real answer was “No.”. Da! On to the next loaded question, “Is there adult supervision here?” Now, that one could be a tough one. Was there a test on this one that all in attendance should have taken before hand? What exactly qualifies as adult supervision? Is it just an age thing? It was guessed that might be it, so of course the answer back to this question was “yes” and a sampling of “adults” moved forward to verify this information. It seemed to do the trick. The officer was satisfied that all was well, he had done his job, and he continued on his journey.

It was a great night with perfect weather. The evening concluded with 16,000 (yes you read correctly....sixteen thousand) firecrackers strung out on clothes line throughout a tree. What an awesome sight and sound! And the good thing….everyone’s hearing was back again before they left for home!