Be aware: deadline ahead. The doctors that I saw in Fall 2021 were pretty clear: pancreatic cancer is deadly. Two different oncologists explained that without surgery, the outlook for this cancer is usually less than a year. In my experience, most doctors aren’t so forthcoming with prognostic pronouncements, but the research seems consistent. Information extracted…
Norman Rockwell was an American painter whose images evoked an idealized vision of “traditional” American values. For almost 50 years, he illustrated covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Even if you don’t know Rockwell’s name, you would probably recognize some of the images that he painted, including a series of four freedoms inspired by President…
At the beginning of January, we visited Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) and watched the guard-changing ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. The Tomb Sentinels are dedicated to their duty. No matter if it’s cold, steamy, or stormy, the mission continues 24/7, as it has since 1937. As we observed the somber ceremony and…
We had just gotten back from a chemo-pump-disconnect appointment at the infusion clinic when my husband got a text telling him our flight the next morning was canceled. My diagnosis makes each trip to visit our son’s family poignant and pressing. It’s not only wondering “Will I feel good enough to travel?” but also “Will…
My Index Card Cure co-blogger Jane’s new book was just released. Check out PIONEER PASSAGE by JF Collen Cornelia Rose thought leaving the comforts of home and her family would be the greatest ordeal she would ever face… and then she encounters buffalo, quicksand, mountain fever, and old beaus. Life on the Oregon Trail is…
In between the first and second years at West Point, cadets head to Camp Buckner for field training — “the best summer of your life.” Recondo (RECONnaissance commanDO) was a multi-day limits-testing experience with bivouacking, patrolling, maneuvering in the dark, and survival lessons. Not to mention mountaineering, digging foxholes, defending positions, poncho rafts, chicken-killing, and…
Rudella, the ordinary-nosed little sister of Rudolph is spreading holiday cheer and magic in classrooms this December. I am excited to once again bring reading magic to classrooms. No greater joy has a writer than to read her creation to a listening, appreciative audience! I have been dazzled over the years by school children’s enthusiastic…
When I wrote to my West Point women classmates about my sense of disbelief after receiving what seemed like a surreal diagnosis, I described it as feeling like I had been “abducted by aliens.” I looked the same on the outside, but covert cells with evil intentions had invaded. West Point cadets would occasionally plan…
Flaming reds Vying for brilliance Each leaf competing Struggling to be heard In all the sadness Embracing the change Attention Generating Warm new memories Fresh pictures of beauty Brilliant hues Increasingly scant Autumn Each life season Carrying its own blessings Exit Blazing color (C) Jane F. Collen October 2008* IndexCardCure.com™ Every leaf counts. *This…
I’m not as big a fan of Harry Potter books as my grandchildren, but I do know that Harry was orphaned and relegated to sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs. After his parents were murdered, Harry’s mother’s sister grudgingly agreed to raise her nephew. While Harry had a place to live with his aunt…
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