This particular ungulate is not Bullwinkle J. Moose, author of the title quote, sidekick of Rocket J. Squirrel, graduate of Whatsamotta U., and resident of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. That fact should be abundantly clear to fans of the Jay Ward cartoons, since Bullwinkle never walked on all-fours and always went into the field dressed in a pair of gloves, or at times various costumes including a tuxedo. It's a young bull I saw on my recent visit to Alaska, one of several archetypal animals associated with our 49th state that crossed my path. He was in the company of a cow (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) at the time. I also saw more moose, Dall sheep, caribou, black bears -- two that were close to the trail we were walking, but more interested in the berries they were eating than us, although one did "woof" in our direction -- a grizzly bear from a distance, bald and golden eagles, a field full of sandhill cranes, and more. It was a good trip, not only from the wildlife viewing standpoint, but it was good for my soul.
It's been 25 years since I've been north late in the summer, and I had forgotten how soon Fall comes; colors were turning and hillsides were ablaze with reds and yellow; nights were frosty. Frequently the backdrop included glaciated peaks of the Alaska or Wrangell Mountains while the Copper River or one of it's many tributaries provided the foreground scenery. While Alaska is getting more than its fair share of press lately due to recent political events, it is an amazing place just in and of itself. It is big, wild, spectacularly scenic in a way that words and photos cannot hope to capture. Being able to experience it with my brother, his wife and her sister, on a whirlwind road trip from Fairbanks to McCarthy and back made it so much better. We hiked, explored the original Kennicott copper mining area, grazed in berry patches, ate fresh salmon, walked on a glacier (not far since it quickly became clear why those on guided tours wore crampons), and enjoyed the company of one another. As an added bonus, I got to spend some time when we were back in Fairbanks visiting with Jenna of crane-making fame and her family. I came away with more cranes -- we're up to 960 -- as well as homemade honey and raspberry jelly; I hope I left them with something.
A few days after getting home, I traded the wilds of Alaska for my now normal routine and began cycle ten of chemo. It went much better than those of the last few months. I still crashed when I got home, but managed to leave the infusion center without getting sick. Sleeping my way through most of it may have done the trick. My latest CA19-9 numbers are good and still consistently low -- the latest, taken last Wednesday, was 20. The every-other-week regimen seems to be working at keeping the cancer in check while slowing the accumulating side effects of the therapy. This is good. I'll know more in three weeks when I have another CT scan. The time before a scan often is like waiting to see what Bullwinkle would pull out of his hat in that cartoon from so many years ago.
In the meantime, I'm trying to make good use of that time. I baby sat Violet today and will do so again tomorrow. We played at a local park in the morning, read a number of books, had a little disagreement about nap time that ended with her falling asleep to my off-key humming of an old John Denver song . . . what a joy. Maybe we'll take a walk in the open space tomorrow. It's funny, in that weird-funny sort of way, that time with her is one of the opportunities that cancer has enigmatically provided me. Well, enough of the "stop and smell the roses" stuff -- you've heard it all before. Life is good; it would probably be better without cancer. But who knows?
Thanks, as always to friends and family for being there for me.
Peace,
Don
