4 ½ Months or so after Treatment ended…………………………………………December 19^th, 2012

 The bright December sun shone down on the fishing fleet berthed at the Wharf, awaiting the OK to go and get them some of those pesky crabs, to bring to us the delectable treats we have come to enjoy this time of year. From our perch on the 3^rd floor of Alioto’s Restaurant, with the Golden Gate Bridge resplendently gold, the blue bay waters reflecting up into our eyes such that we almost need our shades inside the room, the 40 or so St. Ignatius College Prep Class of ’75 grads gathered to celebrate the season, and each other. Milling from pod to pod, hugging, backslapping and speaking a language that truly only we know…..stories flew around, recollections were shared (and corrected) and the early stages of a little day drinking run had begun.

 It was extremely special for me, because last year, to the day, when we had gathered previously, I had noticed the beginnings of a couple of small lumps on my neck. I kept it to myself, enjoyed the day with old teammates, roommates, classmates, my brothers. Why mess it up? Well, since then, the gamut has been run, and on the invitation this year generated by the esteemed Paul Totah, our leader, a Jesuit in jeans and a plaid shirt, was the message to come and celebrate to the health and recovery of yours truly and classmate John Bacchini, lead singer of the ‘50’s band Johnny B. and the Speed Shifters. John is suffering from a painful and aggressive cancer that he has under control for the moment, but for how long, who’s to say? This was all reflected in the mood a couple of Fridays past, a mood that answered the issues of the year, respectful yet joyous. Guys I hadn’t seen for 20 years came to me, telling me they had followed EVERY step of the way via this vehicle, and had been praying for my recovery. Jim Cullen said it was his weekly fix, his reality show, and he looked forward to the read each week. Retired Lt. John Goldbrg, SFPD, talked to me about how he shared it with others and how attentive he had been.

Amazing. Humbling. Gratifying.  After all these years, we are who we are, and the fellas I met at SI are tried and true.  At that moment, gazing out to the GG Bridge in the City of my birth, and 3 more generations on both sides going back, I never felt more at home.  

I saw Bruce Springsteen with my sister at Oracle on 11-30….talk about feeling at home. PA is a Bruce-Head like I’m a Dead Head, and we were lucky enough to secure our positions in “The Pit,’ a fenced off zone for the Fortunate 400…..oh, how those old connections come back into play. Bruce crowd surfed right over us during Hungry Heart, singing all the while. The night was filled with special moments, from the opening chords of Land of Hopes and Dreams to the lights up Born to Run. Emotional night for both of us, for many reasons, and we hive-fived when he sang the words from Badlands, “Well it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” 20 feet away, dead center, unimpaired view, simply perfect.

I have put together a new musical mix that I am dropping off at client’s homes now, titled “Faith Will Be Rewarded.” Let me know if you would like me to put one aside for you. For those who followed this blog, many of the artists will be familiar, many of the songs right on point! If you have it, enjoy, otherwise, I’ll save one for you.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us. I am thankful. I am hopeful. I look to the New Year with wide eyes, a hopeful heart, and understand that for the grace of God I go. This ordeal has been a testament to the powers of group prayer, universal healing and faith, and a lot of hard work, by a lot of people. I am one lucky son of a gun, nowhere near ready to leave this place, still so much to do. I will write goals for the year, personal, spiritual, familial and financial, and will work to attain them. It is said that only 3 % of the population bothers with goals, and this year, I will be amongst that number. Tracking progress along the way and measuring the gains……when Jerry sang “We Will Survive” I always substituted Thrive for Survive……make those goals outward, how to help another, share your skills with your community, join a board, coach a team, tutor a kid. We are all working off of our own hourglass, and we have no control over how fast the sand passes, but what I do know is that my hourglass got turned over this year, and I now see the sand passing through…..that’s enough for me to get up and get going.

Carry On!

TS