Friday in Random Town

The danger in congratulating myself on losing weight (so far just a few pounds but YEA!) is that I’ll think Hey, I’m doing GREAT. I can take a break, have cookies, french fries and pizza today. and then that today stretches into a week and BAM those few pounds are back along with a dozen of their best buds.

Nope, I’m not falling for that shit this time. I will continue with the abstemious shit—oh yes indeedy!
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In about ten days I meet with Doc Plotkin. We’ll talk options. This year will either host an operation or it won’t. I’ve been feeling like I can’t make any big decisions until I know wut up in Surgery-ville.It's like I’m on hold BIG time.
As I was whine-texting this to a pal I realized something important though. This is all just so much whale feces. I am NOT on hold! If the good cutter, Doc Barker, needs to dive back into my head, it’s something that can wait. That is, the meningioma that’s lurking up top is not as super duper critical or heinous as those vestibular schwannomas that I rocked OR that leviathan-esque meningioma that was wrapped around my spine. This baby's re-homing can wait an extra week so that I can hit the beach in Cabarete, Dominican Republic where I’ll take pics of waves and surfers and, ya know, groove out on a new beach.
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Helen and the girls were here yesterday. They were picking up husband/daddy John at the airport and arrived early so we could squeeze in some quality Nantasket Beach time.

Here’s something that I’d forgotten—the beach gets shockingly cold once the intense heat of summer vacates. It was windy as all hell too. Long pants and big warm sweater would’ve made sense. Did I have them? Of course not!

Still gorgeous.
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From an interview/discussion between Sherman Alexie and Ta-Nehisi Coates:

Coates argues that in order to change power structures, black and brown Americans must resist the “fairy tales” of history and the familiar narrative that the United States is some moral nation on a hill. While Alexie does reject the traditional American story, he also believes in the power of the narrative.

“I think that’s another difference between Coates and I—I’m a storyteller,” he says. “I firmly believe in the power of stories to change the world, and I firmly believe in the power of one story to change one life at a time. I see it all the time with my work.”

Alexie has worked to change young minds. In 2007, his young adult novel, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," sold 1.5 million copies and won a National Book Award, and his new illustrated children’s book, “Thunder Boy, Jr.,” tells the story of a little boy making sense of his father's legacy.

Yeah, it’s a children’s book. I’m still gonna buy it. Why? Alexie’s brilliant. Go to the link and read more.  There's even an audio link for the deaf impaired!