I've done alot of thinking about what I could do that would be scary or shocking for this week's Halloween. Since I was rehearsing or performing all weekend, Halloween parties were out of the question. And there's not a whole lot of kids who come around to trick or treat (thank God) in this neighborhood. So what could I do that might be shocking, but not having to overdo the costuming or make-up? Then I started thinking about the really scary things in life...
October has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month. An apropos month, due to the incredibly scary possibilities that cancer will strike someone close to you. Or someone we've gotten close to online. And we've seen alot of that this year. But the other thing that we've seen is how equally bravely our online friends have faced their own personal scariness.
Leading the way, of course, has been
Evening. She was faced with the decision of how much of her body was to be cut away forever, and she bravely went the route that would give the best probability of success. And she's been keeping us informed about all that she's gone through with a great deal of poise and grace. And she's defeated her cancer.
Mermaid Girl soon followed suit, and, perhaps as a result of seeing how Evening has dealt with it all, has also shown great poise in presenting her cancer to us, and the decisions she's had to make. Complicated by the fact that she's a young, single mother. Both of these women have faced their scary demons and have beat them. Both are far stronger than I imagine I ever could be.
But there are others who have had to deal with cancer with varying results.
Moose's mother finally succumbed to over 3 years of cancer this month. She was a feisty woman who continued to fight longer than her doctors could have anticipated. And living the life of a farmer's wife--up before dawn, feeding the animals, the works.
Saucy Wildcat was just recently informed that her thyroid cancer has come back, and she faces the gamut of surgery, chemo and radiation.
Charlie over at Pookalookaville is now seeing her dad in surgery, and his slow recovery. Never fast enough, though.
Robyn's mother died just over a year ago. She just wrote a touching tribute on the one-year anniversary of her death.
These are the ones that pop out at me off the top of my head. I know there's others in our community that have either chosen to not blog about it, or that I've missed. Including my own father. It was less than a year ago that he had surgery to take care of the cancerous tumor growing in his bladder (as mentioned earlier this month, it appears to have been taken care of). What is the common theme through all of this? Not once have any of these people cried "woe is me", or ask for our pity, or fall apart. They have shown courage and humor and an appreciation for our community.
So what could I do that was scary? How could I compete with cancer? I came up with this. Many of you commented on how creepy it was the last time I did this, so I figured what the hell?
But wait. There's the story of Meagan. She's the 15 y.o. daughter of Michelle, a former HNTer. A typically attractive, athletic high school student. A softball player. Who complained about headaches and wasn't having any luck with a variety of meds. As a last resort, her doctor ordered an MRI. That was on a Friday. By the following Monday afternoon, she had undergone brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Her prognosis is good--she'll eventually make a full recovery. In the meantime her vision is a little funky, and her left arm is floppy. To be sure they got it all, she gets to look forward to a round or two of chemo/radiation. And being the proactive type that she is, she had her head shaved, rather than waiting for it to fall out. Now THAT takes some bravery in this fashion-conscious age. From all reports, she likes her new look. I think I know what she means. Go back and click the picture to see something truly shocking!
Once upon a time, in this vast landscape known as Half-Nekkid Thursday, there lived an absolutely gorgeous goddess. Week after week, she would grace us with some of the most remarkable HNT pictures we had ever seen. Her imagination and quality were legendary. She was the undisputed Queen of HNT.
After many months though, the pressure of such high standards took their toll, and she decided to step away from HNT on a high note. For those of us who have been around for awhile, she will always be the Queen of HNT. No one will be able to take her place. For the newer participants, her name might be whispered in that awed hush of reverence. The name that they might have heard about, but never seen. The spammers made sure that her site was defiled permanently.
She's come out of retirement briefly, and she hasn't lost her touch! I'll reveal her tomorrow, if you haven't already figured out who she is!
Alot of you recognized the MG as none other than Crimson. I'd provide a link, but she doesn't have a site anymore. For those of you who missed her during her incredible reign, I feel sorry for you!
"...the Other HNT" is a little light on numbers this week, but worth checking out! Be sure to leave a couple of comments!
Hope you all had a great Halloween!
Mr. Whipple died earlier this month, at the age of 91. Proctor & Gamble is running a commercial-tribute this week featuring clips and paying tribute.
While researching Mr. Whipple, I found out that Evel Knievel died just this morning in Florida. He was a Montana boy, so it brought a little tear to my eye. I have two personal experiences with Mr. Knievel, both at the Butte Country Club. Once was while standing next to him at the urinals in the men's locker room. Not a whole lot of conversation, but he seemed pretty satisfied with himself.
