The Calm before the Chemo

On Saturday, Vinings Mountain Castle was slow to awaken.  The Laird was in additional pain with the new chemotherapy port.  He rested much of the day.  Hopefully getting used to the port and the wound healing will help.  By Saturday afternoon he was doing better and Mario went over to spend an afternoon with Jay, Mike, Jenni, Todd, and Bill; watching the New Orleans and San Francisco game.  This was good for Mario, although the team he bet on lost in the final moments of the game.  The Laird is a social person and being with his friends always results in a good time.

That evening, Lord, Nurse and Butler had a nice healthy meal of rosemary chicken tenders, corn on the cob, wilted spinach and almonds, and portabella mushrooms with balsamic vinegar.  With a three pound bag of COSTCO garlic at his disposal; everything, except for the corn, was heavily laced with garlic, a good anti-oxidant.  All liked the meal.

Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti

Sunday was our church and friends day.  The trio went to their church, St. Thomas the Apostle.  St. Thomas was the doubting apostle, hence the term “Doubting Thomas”.  This was probably a good choice for Mr. FOG.  The parish community looked like America, and the service tilted a bit to the informal with a lot of singing.  A folk Mass feel.   Appropriately the sermon was about God calling to us, but do we hear, and if we hear, do we reply.  Mr. FOG liked the church.  It was different than his Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville.

In its infinity wisdom, the Vatican has again changed the church service.   Mr. FOG knew the change was coming, but had ignored it.  As an altar boy, he remembers saying his prayers in Latin.  This language served the church well and goes back for over a millennia.  Anywhere in the world, perhaps also heaven, the Catholic Mass was said in the same language, Latin.  It is of course the Roman Catholic Church, and catholic means universal. Then came Vatican 2 and we switched to the language of the people.  In our country it was usually English, followed by Spanish, or French.  The reasoning was that the faithful should understand what they were saying.  Mr. FOG can’t argue with this logic.

Now the Vatican is standardizing the service world-wide.  An American Catholic visiting Great Britain should hear the service in the same English words as back in New York.  The Brits might have said Spirit and we Ghost but now we both use Phantom.  This means another change, as the English to be used in church services has to be standardized.  Likewise a traveler to Madrid from Buenos Aires should hear the same Spanish words.

To Mr. FOG it all sounds a bit too bureaucratic and a little petty.  Did they come up with this as a make work project for idle Vatican personnel?  Mr. FOG will say his prayers how he chooses. God will understand no matter the language . Perhaps Mr. FOG will go back to the Latin mother tonque.  Give the Vatican another 20 years and Latin will again be in vogue.  If Mr. FOG is wrong on this, “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa”. 

Mes Amis

It was a slow afternoon and evening filled with friend’s visits, food, more football and packing the suitcase for Monday’s first round of chemo.  Lunch was delivered by two of our most favorite people Molly and Dani from AT&T.  It was a most excellent repast with an Italian flair.   These ladies are on a serious quest to improve their health and the results are beginning to show, as they firm up.  Again Mario’s mood became more festive with Molly and Dani’s visit.  Visits from friends seem to help him a lot. They signed the Gator Hope Chest.

We discussed setting a tentative date in late January to have big trivia night at Central City Tavern with many of Mario’s friends.  Be there or be square.  The big challenge will be how we divide the bar tab prize when we win.

It also was double-header day, for dinner the Cunningham, Feagin, and Gabrielsons’ families provided a most excellent feast with wine.  Mr. FOG has been losing weight with all this cancer worry, but he thinks now that he may be gaining weight.  Thanks you.

Next week, Monday through about Friday, his Lordship will be at Piedmont Hospital as an inpatient for his first session of chemotherapy.  Mario will be setting up his hospital room as his  AT&T office .  With today’s technology it should keep him connected.  YOUR WORLD.  DELIVERED   they say.  Mr. FOG and Nurse Sherry will be there or close by, and keep you all informed.  .