TC travels, 2014 TR, Pg 904, 2015 TR pg 964

GoinThisAway wrote:
Off camping, my foot! It's way too hot to enjoy camping round here right now and I don't have enough leave to spare to go where it's cool. And here you go going back to WORK while I dream about NOT working :B

Actually... I went back to work for Janet.... there is no earnings.... just the cost of my projects out of pocket. I decided that I was going to get back to the land of the living just as I pulled up in front of the house from our 60 nights in New Mexico in May.... planting 4 Japanese Maples, three crepe myrtles, hostas... working with my hands, freeing my mind (as I'll briefly explain)

I was diagnosed last year with prostrate cancer and introduced to a hospice group.... I suffered the pain of certain death for 10 months... the surgeon kept wanting to operate. My mind kept going to the hospice group... the finallity. I finally decided to research everything I could... in February of this year I made an appointment with the surgeon and asked him what my "T" score was.... he said "Zero", I asked what my Gleason score was, he said "Zero" I asked what that indicated... he said "You don't have Cancer" I then asked "Why are you insisting that I have surgery?" He then said... "That If he removed the prostrate he could guareentee that I didn't have cancer.... and yes... I might have to were a diaper" ....I asked what the hell was going on... by now I had figured it out... the surgeon charges $200 for an office visit, $30,000 for the surgery... both take 30 minutes...... I was emotionally crushed beyond belief, numb all over.

A month later in March 2015 I went through the motions... loaded our truck camper... and headed west. I was just barely functioning. We visited the public library in Artesia, NM to see the Peter Hurd mural... then we made it to Roswell, NM... I'm not interested in alien space craft... so we visited the Anderson Museum of Contemporay Art ... then the Roswell Museum and Art Center... both were absolutely filled with painting and sculptures by many famous artists and some by artists that will be, to look at a Wyeth painting from inches away.... and the Roswell Museum is home to the Robert H Goggard historic work shop.... I spent hours sitting in his shop, Wow! the father of modern rocketry...., We stayed in the Roswell area for a couple of weeks soaking up the creatitivity... I even took Janet to the UFO Museum. We were pleasently busy... and there were good resturants too.

As it got warmer we headed north and higher elevations... through Lava Fields at Valley of the Fires, Pueblo Missionss, Historic Forts, even drove a little ways on US Rt 60 (memories of home in WV)... We finally made it to Albuquerque... Old Town.... Art centers, museums, Petriglyphs, and the National Museum of Nuclear science and history (wow!)... another three weeks of fun filled explorations and good food... from there, on to Santa Fe.... Art every where....all of nature is beautiful over the whole state of NM.... and that's why all of the artists are there. Dozens and dozens of museums... and the Capital of NM is filled with art to the brim.

Having spent a large part of my life at Oak Ridge National Laboratory... we went to Los Alamos and of course... more art, more science, more museums...Then.... we went to Jemez... passing along the rim of a huge volcano.... we even drove our camper down tnto the Vallez Cauldera, it must be 35 miles accross... it's just 2 scary miles between the bottom of our truck and the magma and we were at 11,000 feet levation.

When we finally got home in May I didn't recognize our home of 41 years.... I had been rebooted during our 60 days on the road.... OMG.... I had been rebooted! All of that art, all of that history, all of that nature, all of that fantastic and unique food.... all the these wonderful gifts of other peoples labor to create or save for future generations ... and just for my inner self.

Since I have been home I have been planting trees, flowers, ferns... our lawn is looking good (I still have someone cut the grass).. I am happy again.... looking forward to another 75 years.... Thank you for commenting, and especially... thank you for reading my answer to where the rekindled light came from for me.

And our truck camper is ready to go on one minutes notice.

Chet
1241 nights and counting