Dancin' With Mr. C: Zero Minus Three

--> ©2017 by Lee Frederick Somerstein
 
I didn’t think I had anymore to say before my prostate cancer surgery this coming Tuesday. As is often the case, I’m wrong.
Three days out and my mind is moving fast, in every direction. Thankfully, it remains mostly positive. When those scary, negative thoughts inevitably emerge, I acknowledge them let them pass by like a fart in a windstorm. I can’t allow them to take hold in my head. Then, I focus on the best things in my life. I am grateful for everything I have.
Still, I face a rough few weeks. I’m successfully dealing with the anxiety but, today, I’m struggling with the tension of it all. It doesn’t feel like “I’m scared” tension. I’m struggling with the unknown. Maybe it’s my ADHD in high gear but it drives me crazy. Sure, the docs are very positive and I don’t think they train ‘em to soften the news. Still, shit happens and I want the results NOW!
As usual I rely on my 19-years of sobriety and the quiver of tools I have to handle that shit. Since I began this journey less than a month ago, a major tool has been my ability to let go of things I can’t control. It’s not always easy but I have lots of practice and it takes away a lot of pressure.
Another major tool is the power and fellowship of the group. When I got sober my group was Alcoholics Anonymous and it was powerful. Today it’s anyone who reads this. I think this group can be at least as powerful.
Unashamedly, this mini-journal is primarily for me so that as little as possible lurks in my cranial folds, Two common threads of this series are good vibrations and positive energy. It’s working; your response is steady, heartwarming and empowering.
This leads to my unabashedly unscientific experiment, likewise a common thread. It’s about those good, good, good, good vibrations. I ask all of you to use the magic of music and shoot those vibes my way like energy lasers. I’ve never been more serious in my life. I think this stuff works and I have a plan.
My surgery this Tuesday – 4/25 - begins at 7:30am (MDT). It’s at least a two-and-a-half hour procedure. If you can find time that day, please use any audio medium to find The Beach Boys iconic 1966 hit “Good Vibrations.” If you can, listen to it where you can crank it up and share it. Then, while you’re enjoying one of the most iconic Rock songs ever, share those vibes with me.
Think about it, even if a small number of you take a few minutes to merely enjoy a great song and think positive thoughts, it might help anyone – even you.
Good Vibrations, baby. Bring It!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Woodstock, Sort Of.......

Image
©2009 by LeeZard Millions of people will tell you they were at Woodstock in 1969. Only about half-a-million are telling the truth. I am one of them. I was a young (22) Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for a fledgling radio network operated by Metromedia. At the time, Metromedia was the single largest owner of non-network (ABC, CBS & NBC) affiliated radio and TV stations in the country. In those days, by the way, the FCC allowed only a maximum ownership of seven AMs, seven FMs and seven TV stations by a single company. Everyone had heard of this Rock & Roll festival near the small town of Bethel in upstate New York but nobody was prepared for the historic event it would become. On Friday August 15, 1969 I flew to New York City to attend a friend’s Saturday night wedding. At about 6 a.m. Saturday morning the phone rang at my parents’ house (where I was staying). It was my boss in D.C. “It’s a disaster up at that Rock thing in New York – 20-mile long traffic jams; nobody can g...
Read more

BRANDO

Image
©2011 by LeeZard Brando the Wonder Dog died peacefully in my arms at 10:35 PM (PST) on  November 25th, 2011. He was 12-years old. The last words he heard were, “I love you, Brando.” Brando died from an overdose of barbiturates administered by a critical care veterinarian after he was diagnosed with cancer in his shoulder that had spread to his lungs. His chest cavity was filled with blood and fluid; he was slowly suffocating. I had no choice but to put him down. Nonetheless, it was a difficult and wrenching decision.     I wanted to get that part out of the way off the top because I don’t want this to be a maudlin obituary. This is the story of a great and loyal German Shepherd, a dignified and grand old man who lived to love and play. He got plenty of both in the all too brief time we had with him. Brando chose me for adoption in June, 2007, a few months before his eighth birthday. I was looking for a German Shepherd; I knew them to be smart, loyal and protecti...
Read more

Michael Jackson Ain't All That

Image
©2009 by LeeZard LeeZard is already burned out on the Michael Jackson brouhaha. I’m sorry, boys & girls but Michael Jackson isn’t (wasn’t) Elvis. He wasn’t The Beatles or Frank Sinatra. Let’s put aside, for the moment, Jackson’s penchant for diddling little boys, the apparent denial of his Blackness and whatever other “foibles” soiled his fable. As an icon, he doesn’t measure up to the “A” list above. Why? Is Leezard just being contrary? I don’t think so. While MJ fans argue that his record sales are the equal to those of the Beatles and Elvis, the “official” count shows otherwise – by at least a quarter-of-a-million (that will certainly change as MJ sales have skyrocketed since his death). But, anyone can diddle with numbers (much better than diddling with little boys!). Let’s take two examples from my generation and look at the bigger picture, starting with The King (MJ was merely “The King of Pop”). Elvis changed everything. It’s not out of reach to say he jump-started the Rock ...
Read more