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Many thanks!

So here i am in uncharted territory and so far so good... I'm still tired but better than I've been.

Heck, today I earned being tired - was up last night to see what Letterman might do having former Governor Blagojevich on the show. He skewered him. What is the ex-gov thinking pleading his case with Letterman. He was better off with softball questioners. it was worth it to me for the laughs...

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Give Blago a break.......2 Presidential cabinet appointees have withdrawn due to tax issues and our President is uttering "I screwed up". I appreciate the honesty, but would prefer wisdom. Power corrupts.

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Well, back for more blood. We'll see how this batch holds. Overall I still think it's turning here but we will see.

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Hi Fezo, I got my new blood type card in the mail just yesterday.
Hope things are going well. How is the music going with the 7 year olds?

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I'd get much more done without the seven year olds but I'm much happier with them....

Lately I've taken to hanging by the computer with the guitar and playing along with whatever strikes my fancy on either the iTunes or fooling around with youtube. On the latter i found this great version of the old George Jones tune "That's All It Took." It's been covered a million times, probably most notably by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. On youtube they've got it with Ricky Skaggs and Elvis Costello. Sweet!

Too bad I don't have Internet during transfusions.... I make do with iPod and books though.

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I was wondering what kind of music your 7 year olds might be playing.
I went and saw that video with Ricky Skaggs and Elvis Costello. That is sweet. I have one Ricky Skaggs album here called Family & Friends. It's nice to be able to check out videos on the computer sometimes. I've never really tried hard enough to figure out the MP3 and iPod and things like that. They're so small, and when I first got one, I was too busy and the ol eyes were starting to change, but I think it may be possible for me to learn how to use those things soon. What a drag, having to get transfusions, but good you can listen to music, and read.

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The 7 year olds are being tricked by the Disney machine. They (especially Claire) sing the Hannah Montana theme song. So far they don't know dad put out a CD...

I have a couple neat Ricky Skaggs CDs with perfect country names - Don't Cheat in Our Home Town and Highways and Heartaches.

iPods are a ton easier than mp3s. I highly recommend them

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That's good that Claire likes to sing.

:cool:

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Absolutely! I have to get her into a kids music class. She's definitely got it. It's kind of funny that of all the kids the one with the really serious musig gene (they all have some music gene) is the adopted one.

Got my two units today (one Philadelphia and one Omaha) today. Feel better. Capped taht with Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel up in Red Bank. More on that tomorrow.

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Glad you are feeling better, and that you got to get out and enjoy some good music! :)

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Didn't mean to not mention Claire in my previous post. Had just been waiting to hear any news on the concert. I think that is great for you to encourage the kids in their music. Music classes can be good. Usually the teachers are into music themselves, so they like to see students that are interested in music. I think Claire might be excited to get to go to a music class. The regular classroom may not provide enough music instruction.

When you first mentioned 7 year olds, I thought they might be twins. That's interesting one is adopted. Did you get to raise her from a newborn?

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:)

Just got a view of New Jersey from Regis. He was on the 103 floor of the Empire State building. lol I think I saw your house. :biggrin:

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Well, you'd have to overcome the curvature of the earth but...... I'm probably 90 miles southwest of the Empire State Building. Incredibly i have never been up it. My "tall building in New York" experience was going up the World Trade Center. Still spooks me when I think of that.

Ah! Another chance to talk about the "twins." We had decided to get a girl from China about a year and a half before it all happened. Wasn't a fertility thing. It was a 'those kids have a terrible time of it and you can't help the big picture much but can do everything for one kid" thing. Well, halfway through things Jen gets pregnant but we'd decided beforehand that if that happened we were still going through with it.

So Carrie was born September 21,2001. Believe me that was a weird time to be having a kid! We continue on things for Claire. In January 02 I have a series of ministrokes leading to a seizure. We pause and really started thinking this might not be a go. We tell the adoption agency we're slowing down but come May I get a call from the agency telling me she's looking at a picture of my daughter. I'm there "excuse me?" She had been away and never got the delay message. Says we can say no but in conversation says she was born on September 22, 2001. I know at that point that I'm going to go get her.

Jen was already in bed. i go up and tell her and first she's says we can't do it. Then i say "she was born on September 22 - I'm going." She was quickly on board.

The trip to China was at the end of June of 2002. At the time the girls were nine months old. Jen didn't see taking Carrie to China at 9 months so i took my oldest daughter, Jill. She was 13 at the time. On July 1 we arrive in Changsha, the capital of the Hunan province. They hand Claire off to us almost before I've put down my suitcase! Jen sends me an E-mail. Now we had named Claire before she was even conceived. i named her after my mother who just missed ever getting to meet her. The orphanage, where she had lived from the age of two days had given her the name Wei. We had checked on the meaning of that and when you look in a baby name book Claire means exactly the same thing! The Chinese speak of a red thread holding people together. If you are connected to another person by a red thread you will meet that person no matter how tangled the thread may get. We were obviously connected to Claire by that red thread.

It was tough early on because Carrie is such a laid back happy kid and Claire is very temperamental which we were warned first thing is a Hunan characteristic. They are often very opinionated and passionate. Mao was from Hunan. Carrie and Claire have become twins for all practical purposes. Best friends and worst enemies. More often friends.

I'll have to post a picture at one point.

Meanwhile, I'm tired but getting along. I imagine I'll have another blood trip on Wednesday. As long as i can keep it going which I'm sure I can.

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what a remarkable story! love it!

hope things go well on wednesday..

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That really must have been a weird time to be having a kid. Especially since you lived so close by the world trade center and you had been way up there before. It was pretty freaky hearing about it way over in this part of the country.

Thanks for sharing the story about Claire. That's good you are all a family. I'd like to see a picture. :) That must have been a fun trip for Jill.

I want to encourage others here to give blood. I did in December, and can again soon, but I would like to help more if I can.

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Oh, yes! Keep those blood donations coming!

It was so weird here in that time frame. The next county north of here lost more people on 9/11 than any other jurisdiction except the city of New York. For more than half a year there were multiple obits in the paper as folks waited to mark the many deaths. While i didn't do it you could go not far at all from here and see things smoking up there. A friend who lives up where i grew up (and may yet go back) was watching the event through binoculars from his deck. Yeah, it was insane. If you want some chills listen to Tom Paxton - http://www.tompaxton.com/audio/the_bravest.mp3

Will have to get a good picture going. Today, however, I'm working and then heading up about an hour and a half to go see Jonathan Edwards. Should be fun.

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Hi Steve, I just found this web address on the back of my brother, Andy's guitar tuner. I thought you or Claire might like it. :)

http://www.cherub.cn/


Thanks for the link to that song. I listened to it.

Jonathan Edwards! Wow, hope you had fun there.

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Oh, cool. Thanks!

Jonathan Edwards puts on a great show! I had only seen him at all once before and it was in a bar that didn't do him justice at all. Tonight was an acoustic music outfit that holds concerts every couple of weeks. Good stuff. I saw Rodney Crowell there last month.

Anyway, Jonathan played with a trio of him, a really good mandolin player and Sturat Schulman who has been with him on and off for forty years. Great original stuff spanning that length of time and very interesting takes on others material. Fantastic harmony.

Funny thing - he used the old Lightfoot joke - "I'd like to introduce the band - Stuart, Taylor, Taylor, Stuart....

It's one in the AM. I need to sleep.

Joke tonight - His wife says come upstairs and make love to me. He replies "pick one. I don't think I can do both."

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Grrrr....

I'm back to square one. today's hemoglobin count was down at 6.9 - lowest it's ever been. Back in the hospital tomorrow...

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Back in there for for 2 more units of blood, or do you have to stay in there for a longer time because of the hemoglobin count?

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Two more units. That brings the count right up. Essentially someone else's bone marrow is doing the work mine is supposed to do. You'd think mine would be ashamed of itself.

As this has gone along it takes longer now because they have to give me medication before the transfusion to keep my body from trying to reject it and then different medication after to prevent iron from building up. Too much iron is way bad for you.

If you ever read the Steve Goodman biography, Facing the Music, there's a piece in there on how he got picked up by the Chicago police because they thought all the little needle bruises on his arms were from heroin use when in fact he was fighting leukemia. My arms are starting to look like that. Be ready to post my bail.....

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I can't afford to post bail for anyone, but if I can donate bone marrow for you, I'm willing to do that. Make sure the cops don't see those little needle bruises. You don't need to be going to jail. Going to the hospital is close enough. Does Jen have some concealer? That might help.

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I'm cool. At least I have a brother who's a lawyer.....

I could see that with the concealer... Cop: "I love what you've done with your arms."......

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Fezo,

Happy to see you still have your sense of humor. I really admire you. :) Keep up the good work.

Thinking of you.

DSR

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fezo...I'm so sorry about the relapse (?). Hope you're out of the hospital soon.

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Will just be the day. I'll check i tonight.

Off I go.

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Two units of Portland, OR a+. Hoping for the best. At least things feel more like something normal. I learned to never let it get that low again.

Have three new holes in my arm..... I'm ready to start a really miniature golf course....

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Very interesting post, and I would like to learn more about what the Chinese say about that red thread.

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A reasonably quick description of the red thread -

"The Red Thread

The Chinese have an ancient belief that an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break.

When a child is born, these invisible red threads reach out from the child's spirit to all the important people who will enter her life. As she grows, the thread shortens, drawing her closer to the people who love her."

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Hi Steve,
About two weeks ago I got a really cool PM from ... China.
Cool pics on her website too.
Thanks again Jeanette.
:)

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What a story man, hang in there !

Peace,

Bill :)

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Hey!

Well, I'm in again tomorrow for a couple of units... Will let you know how it goes. I'm beginning to try and plan my schedule around these things since otherwise I'd run out of sick days. You do what you have to.

The doctor was away on vacation for a week and then had a family emergency so getting everything done was wackier this time but I'm due in tomorrow morning now which is right on schedule.

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Fezo - I havn't kept up on your story from the time I wished you well the first day. Reading today, I am astounded by your high spirits, and just plain toughness getting through what you are. And to be so giving as to adopt your child from China, that I think is one of the most giving things a couple can ever do. I wish you well in the 2 more units, and hope your arm make-up works ! I am very humbled in reading your proud struggle - I have no doubt all will be well with your love of life. All the best,
geo- steve

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Many thanks to my fellow Steve...

On the adoption front let me tell you - I've gotten far more back than i ever put into it. She's one special girl. named her after my mom. Major daddy's girl - like none I've seen. I mean my second daughter was a daddy's girl (still is to a fair degree) but nothing like this. She's very opinionated and passionate which is a challenge but loving as all get out and scary bright.

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So I'm back with two units from Columbus, OH.... We carry on..

So I get home and we just have some fried chicken from the store. Claire asks how they catch the chickens! You can't buy that kind of entertainment. Once she figured out that the chicken didn't live to a ripe old age you could see the wheels starting to turn in her head. Her 16 year old sister (my daughter Michelle) hasn't eaten meat in a year and a half.

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I hope all went well :D

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Well, I really enjoyed reading your story about the adoption. That is wonderful and I am sure the babies bring a great deal of joy to your life.

I loved the story about the red thread :) Really a lovely thought. :)

You hang in there :) It sounds like you are going through some tough experiences. I don't know if I could be as brave and upbeat as you are. I admire your mind set and courage. I still keep you in my prayers.
Anne

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Send her up here - the local paper has a job posting for a 'chicken catcher' at a local chicken farm.
My sister went thru a 'no meat' phase around age 15 or so. It lasted a couple of years if I remember correctly.

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Mostly with a machine that looks like a Bobcat thats been modified to have soft rubber fingers, like a street sweeper sort of. But it's also still done by hand and it's a lot faster than you might imagine. But from birth to fying pan the treatment is largely humane, a happy, well cared for chicken is what you want.
I work in the corporate offices but in your first year of employment you usually get a "tour" of a processing plant. Believe me, if you like chicken you'll want to skip the tour. I was off meat eating for a good 8 - 10 hours after that. Really.

Next time you have Cornish Hens I'd love to hear the story from that table side chat, LOL. (they're just "younger" by the way)

Good story,

Bill :)

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LOL - A whole 8 - 10 hours..mygoodness! Hard to believe!
;)