"You Can't Do That"

 Obviously, The Beatles did not subscribe literally to this song written by John Lennon and recorded in early 1964 as the "b" side to the "Can't buy me love" single. John's song was at least in part autobiographical and differed from the normal Beatles songs of the early days as the lyrics clearly talk about a jealous guy telling his girlfriend to quit talking to another guy. The song was considered as the "A" side of a single until Paul's "Can't Buy me Love" trumped it at the last minute. The video is from an early 60's T.V. show with a not so obvious lip sync. If you watch near the middle, John is shown playing the lead guitar part which was not his normal role. (At the time John was the obvious leader of the band.) I like this early rocker and can relate to the title. While I continue to improve every day I have to restrict myself from certain foods, etc. Yvonne can be heard telling me I can't do that once or twice a day.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and shared good times with family and friends. We were going to travel to Utah to see my Father and his wife Alice- then the snow and roads changed our minds. We did get our house decorated including our two Christmas trees after our sons made visits and Andrew introduced us to his friend Morgan.
Yvonne is registering for the "Big Climb" very soon (it is March 11, 2011) we hope to form a team again and will be communicating more on that very soon. Living happily- Greg

" I and Love and You"

11-21-2010 Sadie in Enumclaw 2+ inches of snow!

I am posting a video from one of the best of the new bands out there. The Avett Brothers blend rock, country, blues, and their own americana into an eclectic very interesting sound. "I and Love and You" is probably about leaving a girlfriend and missing chances to start the relationship out on a better footing. I am also adding a nice forwarded e mail from my Oahu friend Valerie. It is worth a read and a forward if you are so inclined...

Yvonne, Sadie with Tree #1

I had a bone marrow aspiration done a little over a week ago and will discover the results tomorrow. I am pretty sure I am still cancer free as I am getting a little better every day with the minor complications from the transplant. My 24 year old son Andrew is flying in tomorrow with his friend Morgan, just in time to see the two Christmas trees Yvonne cut down for our house this past Sunday. I felt wimpy, she ordered me to stand aside and loaded the trees into the truck too. 

What if there isn't "anymore"?
 

  One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was  struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore".
  No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."   Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

  So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.
  This is true for marriage.....And old cars... And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

  Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

  Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close!
 

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I put the whole message on my blog to reach as many people as possible.   Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back. And just in case I'm gone tomorrow:
I LOVE YA!!!

Live today because tomorrow is not promised.

"Policeman's X-Mas Party"

John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting wrote a song about his experiences with the police after his housekeeper and her boyfriend tried to kill the housekeeper's husband at John's house. It's a bit of a jumble, but has some interesting lyrics that might ring true to other law enforcement professional's out there.  :)
Hello to everyone, I hope you survived yet another year of attack ads and all the political fluff. It doesn't get any better, huh? I think the electorate sent a message about the track we are on, hopefully the politicians get that.
On to other things! I am excited to announce that I am working with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (the same organization that does the Big Climb) to help raise funds by being an honored patient for a local Team in Training. The team is about to start training for the Victoria B.C. New Balance Half Iron triathlon June 19, 2011. (If I ever get a clearance to start swimming again, I might train for this event too.) I will know more this weekend after we attend a kick off meeting, if you are interested get a hold of me...
My back and neck issues are improving, other than having some bulging discs- I should be fine. I did develop some minor graft versus host disease (skin and mouth irratations) which mean my transplant is working as it is supposed to (no pain no gain). Work is progressing O.K., notwithstanding the bad news this morning that our agency is facing a large budget cut for 2011 due to the voters voting no to a sales tax increase that would've kept our funding intact.