Hey Ellis, I just saw the comment you slipped in at the end of your last post about your friend Mike Carpenter and his cancer. I went to his blog and read backwards through his blog for a ways. Quite thought-provoking reading backwards through his entries about fighting off depression, fearing death, discovering his cancer, getting doctor's tests, looking to get involved in a relationship. It's good to think about those things once in a while. Gives you a lot of good perspective. I really took notice when he wrote, "I've had a pretty good five years of retirement. That's more than some of my coworkers had, since they died before they could retire."
Yep Tom. I really enjoyed Mike's thinking things through and writing. Ordinarily I won't be drawn into something as sobering as first hand accounts of people that are terminally ill. But like you, I started reading backwards and couldn't stop. Like I note, the coincidence of me being at lowest ebb, kicked out of my place and driving back to Oklahoma in a blizzard. that's nothing. That's an adventure. Dying from chemo and colostomy surgery, there's something to get sad about. And Mike really showed a lot of class in how he faced it.
Very thoughtful posts from both of you. Sue just had a cousin pass away who had been fighting cancer off and on for quite a while. Barb, her husband and kids where the only family we had close by when we were living in MA, so these are important folks to us. She has been in all of our thoughts and I don't think she would have disagreed with anything you are saying here.
Sorry Rick. That's tough when a Mom of young kids passes away. Almost too sad to absorb.
Tom, no, Mike's dying prompted a Daily Oklahoman writer on twitter to announce his death. Then I got some other links. I didn't know about his blog until yesterday.
Barbs kids are grown... Barb was a bit older than Sue and I. I get the impression that it's something of a relief that she threw in the towel. She had been suffering quite a bit.
Very intense stuff--but like Tom said, important. Am I right that the illustration here is from Mike Carpenter?
I've been incommunicado for the last week dealing with just this sort of business (mother in the hospital). It really brings me down, but, mindful of just the sort of thing you're talking about here, I'm doubling my resolve to keep involved with the good things in life.
I hope your Mom is alright Marty. I empathize. My Mom is in the living room, 80 years old, watching Jeopardy. That comes to an end some day. She's diabetic and has one good eye and has had a stroke that took a lot of her ability to remember. I just hope for a long comfortable stasis of the current situation.
And you're right we can't dwell on death. It's coming. Big deal. Happened to Kings and Queens by the boatload.
Marty. It's not Mike's art. I wouldn't know where to go for any example of his art. He got into local TV as a News reporter, went up to local anchor. Did alright I guess.
I had described Mike's art as Tom Sutton influenced. I did a search on Sutton and I don't think he is the artist i was thinking of. This would have been an artist working for Eerie and Creepy that had more of a CARtoons kind of look. Typically did clever layouts.
His work is on the one hand quite beautiful. But there's something about the combination of colors, textures and images that makes me nauseous. Anyone else have that reaction?
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Hey Ellis, I just saw the comment you slipped in at the end of your last post about your friend Mike Carpenter and his cancer. I went to his blog and read backwards through his blog for a ways. Quite thought-provoking reading backwards through his entries about fighting off depression, fearing death, discovering his cancer, getting doctor's tests, looking to get involved in a relationship. It's good to think about those things once in a while. Gives you a lot of good perspective. I really took notice when he wrote, "I've had a pretty good five years of retirement. That's more than some of my coworkers had, since they died before they could retire."
Yep Tom. I really enjoyed Mike's thinking things through and writing.
Ordinarily I won't be drawn into something as sobering as first hand accounts of people that are terminally ill. But like you, I started reading backwards and couldn't stop. Like I note, the coincidence of me being at lowest ebb, kicked out of my place and driving back to Oklahoma in a blizzard. that's nothing. That's an adventure. Dying from chemo and colostomy surgery, there's something to get sad about. And Mike really showed a lot of class in how he faced it.
The coincidence timing of my eviction and Mike's discovery of his cancer. That's where the sentence was going.
Very thoughtful posts from both of you. Sue just had a cousin pass away who had been fighting cancer off and on for quite a while. Barb, her husband and kids where the only family we had close by when we were living in MA, so these are important folks to us. She has been in all of our thoughts and I don't think she would have disagreed with anything you are saying here.
So his last post was November 2012 and he seemed to have hope that his cancer was responding well to the chemo. Any idea if he is still alive?
Sorry Rick. That's tough when a Mom of young kids passes away. Almost too sad to absorb.
Tom, no, Mike's dying prompted a Daily Oklahoman writer on twitter to announce his death.
Then I got some other links. I didn't know about his blog until yesterday.
Barbs kids are grown... Barb was a bit older than Sue and I. I get the impression that it's something of a relief that she threw in the towel. She had been suffering quite a bit.
Very intense stuff--but like Tom said, important. Am I right that the illustration here is from Mike Carpenter?
I've been incommunicado for the last week dealing with just this sort of business (mother in the hospital). It really brings me down, but, mindful of just the sort of thing you're talking about here, I'm doubling my resolve to keep involved with the good things in life.
Like our T.A.G. community!
I hope your Mom is alright Marty. I empathize. My Mom is in the living room, 80 years old, watching Jeopardy.
That comes to an end some day. She's diabetic and has one good eye and has had a stroke that took a lot of her ability to remember.
I just hope for a long comfortable stasis of the current situation.
And you're right we can't dwell on death. It's coming. Big deal. Happened to Kings and Queens by the boatload.
Marty. It's not Mike's art. I wouldn't know where to go for any example of his art. He got into local TV as a News reporter, went up to local anchor. Did alright I guess.
I had described Mike's art as Tom Sutton influenced. I did a search on Sutton and I don't think he is the artist i was thinking of.
This would have been an artist working for Eerie and Creepy that had more of a CARtoons kind of look. Typically did clever layouts.
The Bruce Lee artwork gives me the creeps!
I think the artist for that- I'll just check. The podcast link is to that artist's interview
The artist is known as Mu Pan
His work is on the one hand quite beautiful. But there's something about the combination of colors, textures and images that makes me nauseous. Anyone else have that reaction?
Yeah, the Bruce Lee art El posted does give me a mild case of the queasies.
And thanks for the kind words, El. "Kings and Queens by the boatload"...!
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