by cg on November 27, 2006
As I made my way home from the Stock Farm stop on the Marguerite Shuttle’s B Line, I arrived at this very nicely lit scene. Minutes earlier, a small squall had raced through, bringing swirling winds, a noticeable drop in temperature and a light dusting of rain.
It reminded me of hiking trips in Yosemite with Linda’s father and namesake stepson John. John, the elder, would say no hike was complete without a storm, and he loved those moments as we quickly pitched our tents while the wind rose and whipped the bush and trees and you could smell the rain that was to come.
Looking at this picture in my den (aka gulker.com World HQ), it occurs to me that it tells my story just at the moment: uncertain sky, much darkness, but a shining path that I tred one step at a time. Forgive the amateur prose hour here, but this photo really does sync with my current state of mind…
by cg on November 27, 2006
Chris, Lisa and Angela (L to R – Debbie was camera shy) are the radiation therapists and nurses who run one of UCSF’s two Siemens Mevatron linear accelerators (the one that’s set up mainly for brain tumors). I think of them as the angels of the radiation oncology lab, a place where I’m spending a lot of time lately. Given their job – they deal all day with very ill people – they have amazing spirit and cheer.
Weekdays, I descend 3 flights of stairs adjacent to the ER ambulance entrance, and make my way through a small maze in the basement of Long Hospital to the radiation oncology men’s waiting room, after checking in with Mr. Jew at the front desk. Chris, Debbie and Angela are busy and their work is very demanding – you don’t want to make mistakes when you’re pointing high-energy electron beams at people’s heads. They nevertheless manage to be genuinely cheerful and upbeat: a bright spot in these sometines long days.
Today I brought my digital Leica: previously I brought the now-ailing, much smaller Pentax. They had fun taking pictures of me, pinned to the gurney by a radiation mask, and I finally wrangled all 3 into a shot in front of the Mevatron (above). If you find yourself in need of radiation therapy for your brain, allow me to recommend UCSF…
by cg on November 27, 2006
I rose at 6:00 AM this morning for the first time since surgery, with Linda who has maintained the dawn patrol that has been a cornerstone of our 25 years together. We walk together the quarter mile or so to Sand Hill Road, then, at the bridge over San Francisquito Creek, we part ways, Linda heading off on a 4.3-mile circuit around Stanford, while Cassie and I walk the 2-mile loop around the Stanford corral. (Since the Pentax died, Linda carries our only small camera: she photographed a beautiful sky ove Roble field on her trek).
This morning I was greeted with one of those experiences that takes you back to boyhood: on the construction site of the new practice golf course, a small team of men were pulling down the old corral fence (one that I’ve come to know these past 17 years). A group of 4 men with hammers had removed most of the long, horizontal 1×8 boards, leaving a long row of 4×4 posts in the ground, some straight, but many canted at the wacky angles decreed by time and circumstance.
A Bobcat appeared, gunned its motor, and charged directly down the row of posts, its bucket held a few feet above the ground. The posts snapped like match sticks: the Bobcat stopping only when it reached a gate that had beefy concrete posts. Watching the Bobcat knock down the posts was just plain fun. Heh, guys really do like stuff like this… this guy does, anyway…
