T is for "Happy TOGETHER" by the TURTLES

"Happy Together" is a 1967 song from the Turtles' album of the same name.  The song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the number 1 spot for 3 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, former members of a band known as The Magicians. The song has been featured in many movies including 1987's "Ernest Goes to Camp," 1990's "The Naked Gun," 1994's "Muriel's Wedding," and 2008's "Twenty-Seven Dresses."  Some artists who have covered the song are Petula Clark, Captain and Tennille, and Donny Osmond, among others.  In 1999, BMI named "Happy Together", with approximately five million performances on American radio, the 44th most-performed song in the USA of the 20th century, placing it in the same league as "Yesterday" by The Beatles and "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel. 

As I was trying to think of what to write about for this week, the word "together" came to mind and then, suddenly, there was the song.  Since Lorne and I met in 1969, the song was still very popular and so it seemed fitting that I use it for ABC Wednesday.  The words are true to our lives, past and present.  We have actually been together for over 40 years, albeit for some years only in our memories.  But we are together now and are committed to being together forever. 

Pop over to YouTube on a separate page and listen as you read the uplifting lyrics here. 

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

Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night
It's only right
To think about the girl you love

And hold her tight
So happy together

If I should call you up
Invest a dime
And you say you belong to me
And ease my mind
Imagine how the world could be

So very fine
So happy together

I can't see me loving nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me
Baby the skies will be blue
For all my life

Me and you
And you and me
No matter how they tossed the dice
It had to be

The only one for me is you
And you for me
So happy together

Me and you
And you and me
No matter how they tossed the dice
It had to be

The only one for me is you
And you for me
So happy together
So happy together

How is the weather
So happy together
We're happy together
So happy together

I sure hope we'll be happy together for a long time yet.  This is us Christmas 2012.

So be sure to give thanks for the tantalizing Mrs. Nesbitt, the creator of ABC Wednesday, and the tremendous Roger, our administrator.  Also, consider becoming part of the team that visits about 10 contributors to ABCW per week to tell them how talented they are with their tasteful texts.

S is for SMILE

As our saga continues, we just try to keep on smiling!  What else can one do when faced with traumatic events but smile smile smile...

Since coming home from a very uncomfortable stay at the hospital, Lorne has been sleeping a lot.  He needs a blood transfusion, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 25th, and after that he should start to feel stronger.

Also, when we went to see his oncologist, we were actually a bit surprised that the doctor was willing to let Lorne stop the chemo.  Apparently, most people would insist after having gone through what Lorne just did.  However, he wants to live - let's face it, who doesn't? - so he asked what other options the doctor had in his bag of tricks.

After some deep thinking, we have all agreed that he will continue with chemo, but with a change to his cocktail.  Instead of the 3 drugs he's been given thus far, he will get only one.  Hopefully, he will be able to tolerate it with fewer side effects.  If he can, then at the next treatment the doctor will add one of the other drugs to see how that goes.  Lorne is willing to do everything he can to get healthy, or at least as healthy as can be, so he can go on for as many more years as possible.

At the moment, there are no signs of cancer, but the oncologist emphasizes that the little "buggers" are hiding inside, just waiting to attack.  While Lorne struggles with the physical side of this war, I struggle with the emotional side.  There are so many things we still want to do with our lives together, but we can't make any plans until he is off the chemo and recovering.  Here, Lorne is chatting with his best friend Chris, who's in Arizona for the winter.  It really keeps his spirits up when his friends give him a call.

And we both keep smiling - well, we try.

I've started physiotherapy on my ankle and even went for a very sloooowwww walk at the dog park the other day.  The ankle is sore and still swollen a bit, but I'm on the mend.  And for that, I smile.  And so does sweet Tegan.  (Photo taken during my first time back at the dog park with her.) How could anyone resist this adorable smiling face?

Don't forget to give sincere thanks to the scintillating Mrs. Nesbitt, the creator of ABC Wednesday, and to the singular Roger, our administrator.  Also, remember there is a team who scours your posts in order to salute your significant contributions.  We're always seeking new team members so some can take a break.  If you'd like to participate, even for just one round, (minimal requirements) please contact Roger. 

R is for ROUGH RIDE

We're back at it again with ABC Wednesday's letter of the week - R.  First I must thank all of you who commented on last week's post and gave me such rounding support with this rough ride we're on right now.  To update you, Lorne spent a total 6 days in the ER at our local hospital and he was very anxious to get home.  What with cuts to nursing staff and increased working hours, the staff is run off their feet.  I had to be patient with them, although I was a bit peeved at times.  For example, his commode and urine bottle were both full and had not been removed for hours when I arrived one day.  However, he did progress enough finally to be able to come home.  But it was only after I phoned his oncologist and had him take over his care, even if it was by phone. 

We're not sure how the oncologist will continue with treatment because Lorne had such extreme side effects from his chemo.  Even now two weeks after his last treatment, his poor mouth is covered in bleeding sores to the point where he has to drink through a straw.  He can't chew anything so I'll be cooking him mushy food in order that he gets enough nutrients.  Yes, cancer is a terribly rough ride through life.  It a roller coaster as we resign ourselves to the pits of illness and injury before being able to reap the rewards of recovery.

Our lives were complicated enough when I fell and broke my ankle in two places.  I now don't have to wear the boot I dubbed "Frank" (after Frankenstein) but my foot is still quite swollen and sore.  I'll be going to physiotherapy and it'll be a month or so before I'll truly be back to normal.  In the meantime, my daughter has been a rock and a godsend helping us out.  She comes every day to take the dog for a good long walk, does grocery shopping, and cleans the floors and carpets.

Thanks again for all your resolute responses to my last post.  We both rejoiced when, on the same day, I got the good news that my ankle is healed and and I can toss Frank, and Lorne was allowed to come home from the hospital.  He got to see our new Lazy Boys chairs that had arrived that week and he settled nicely in his.  My daughter took our picture before she left and then, after Lorne had a shower and a shave, he looked positively radiant while resting in his new chair, loving pup Tegan at his feet.

Let's not forget ravishing Denise, the creator of ABCW, and good old reliable Roger, our administrator.  For more posts on the letter R, just click here.

Q is for QUIT

Lately, I've been feeling like quitting - quitting blogging, quitting tutoring, quitting my home and my family and even my country.  I find myself dreaming of moving to England and living as an ex-pat where I will find my true ancestral roots.

But then - I wake up.  I tell myself, "This too shall pass" as it always does.  This has been, I believe, our "annus horribilus" as Queen Elizabeth referred to 1992 in her speech at Guildhall to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession.

"1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an 'Annus Horribilis'."

When we returned from England late last September, we were full of high hopes of planning our wedding and setting forth on a future together.  And then everything had to stop because of Lorne's illness.  Then we put everything off because my daughter set the date for her wedding and that took priority over us.  Then Lorne had to have pre-op chemo starting in May with the op scheduled for August.  Wedding preparations took over for me while he was struggling with serious side effects from the drugs.  We received a call from his surgeon's office giving us the date of his surgery - 4 days before daughter's wedding!  No way was he going to be able to attend!

So between August 13th and August 18th I was driving back and forth to the hospital and trying to pay attention to final details for the wedding.  The wedding day was exhausting and I fell, unknowingly breaking the inside of my right ankle.  But I carried on because Lorne was coming home.  Two days after he got home, he turned yellow...back to the hospital for another week. Six weeks after his surgery, Lorne had to start the final chemo treatments.  They have been brutal this time and to top it off, I fell again, breaking the outside bone of the same ankle. 

So here we are.  I try not to feel sorry for myself, but I get so frustrated about my ankle healing properly and fast so I can tend to Lorne.  Poor thing - his hair has fallen out in big chunks this time, he can't eat, he has terrible mouth sores so he has to drink through a straw, and he's as weak as a kitten.

I hate asking friends to help us out, but I've had to since I can't drive due to my ankle and he's so weak , he can hardly stand up. At this moment, he's in the local emergency hooked up to IVs to control his nausea and his diabetes that's temporarily out of control because of his inability to eat or take in fluids. He's also on morphine because of the pain in his stomach.  I have a splitting headache, but who am I to complain? 

Sorry for being such a downer this week, but I guess when you reach breaking point you just have to crawl under the covers and cry for a while.  Next week, I won't feel like quitting! I always seem to be able to bounce back.

In the meantime, remember our queen Denise who created ABC Wednesday and our highly qualified Roger who administers the site.