TH July 12^th                                                                                                          John Brodie Day #12

So, I worked hard to get over the # snafu of last week….blew through those numbers and then some sitting at today’s #12….out of the teens, just a hair over 2/3 of the way done with Radiation. The #12 stares at me at the garage door, it will tear off tomorrow afternoon and hold at 11 for the weekend.

You know how it is when you count down the dates towards a b-day, a concert date, a party, a holiday?…..sometimes it goes slowly, other times, tick freakin’ tock……depending on how I look at it, it swings either way.

For anyone going through a medical situation, communicate with your Doctor, or more specifically, the Nurse Practitioner assigned to you. When things pop up, tell them, then BOOM, they have a way, a prescription, to ward it off. The more I communicate with my gals, the quicker I get solutions. It has been helpful this week, I’ll spare you the deets, but the point is, don’t suffer through it.

This feeding tube is a trip and a half. So convenient. I will admit that food doesn’t get me off at the moment, since my tongue is shot and burnt, but being able to get the calories and the sustenance in very little time is a godsend. True, there is no variety, but the mixture does do the trick. Right now, I don’t care what hours I eat, just that I do. I don’t go to bed hungry either, no sense in that.

I’m down about 18 pounds now, and it is evident. My hair is coming back, a salt and pepper mix like before, and it is very short still, but it is making a comeback. For all of you thinking that a by-product of this deal is that I lose weight, well, yes, true that, but it is the muscle that goes, the tone, not the fat. I think it will entail some personal training when I get through this to get the right cardio/weight lift mix in there.

To the heat….wow, that slows me down big time. For me, Tuesday and Wednesday were tough. Sam and I bought some Comcast movies and laid low. What’s the point? We all miss our baseball when the All-Star Break happens, too. Can’t wait to get that rhythm going again…..how about the Melk Man, the Panda, Matt gets the win, Buster holds the fort….yeah, baby. Didn’t hear squat outta David Wright.

Kiki’s band, Dream Posse plays twice on the Peninsula coming up, Wed the 18^th in Menlo Park and Wed the 1^st of August in Redwood City. Go to www.dreamposse.com for the deets, but it is free and they are good. I can’t say I’ll be doing my usual Roadie work for them this time, (like carrying the singer’s mic stand is tough) but do go and check ‘em out. The more folks show up, the better chance they get to get re-booked, and that’s a good thing.

Finally, I want to mention the passing of a mentor, a leader, an impresario of the highest order, a friend and frankly, a legend. Peter Barsotti passed away at the age of 62 on June 23^rd at his home up in Groveland, succumbing to a 12 (evidently today's #, huh?) year off and on battle with cancer. Peter was Bill Graham’s right-hand man, responsible for the elaborate stage set ups at the infamous Days on the Green, the idea guy behind the Grateful Dead’s New Year’s Eve Midnight celebrations….my God, he had a hand in ALL of it, every last ounce. He was an amazing cat, and he was responsible for so much of the fun ALL of us had at any Bay Area rock and roll show we attended. I was graced to know him, and want to thank him out in the universe for his spirit and his creativity.