Today was Opening Day. Baseball is back. I made Chicago Style Hotdogs. Vegan for me, Nathans for Jaimie and my dad. I can’t believe it’s baseball season again. Does anyone else feel time moving at warp speed? I’ve always known that Time moves quickly, but the past year or so has gone so fast I can’t seem to get a hold on it. I mean, next week is April, and I still feel the urge to tell people happy New Year for 2017. Time is going so quickly it’s starting to defy the laws of

Then there were two. The ex-teacher had her last day of radiation on Monday. She brought in baklava for the group. They were delicious, but I could only eat one bite because I could feel my blood sugar bubbling like a volcano. It’s a little sad without her there. I’ve only got a minute or two in the waiting room before they bring me in. I appreciate the efficiency, but we barely have time to say hello. I leave the room and it’s just the ex-postal worker and the ex-Army guy al

I voted today. There is a special election to decide my state Senate seat. To say the voting process was easy would be an understatement. There was literally no one there. The parking lot was completely empty. I thought I was in the wrong place until I saw a sign that said, No You’re in the Right Place. It was 7:30am when I got there, and I was only the fifth person to vote. I voted for Democrat Tina Belge. She is awesome. I got to spend an afternoon with her campaign manager

It’s amazing how little we know about the people we see every day. One of my favorite feelings is when an assumption I’ve made, a story I’ve told myself, gets blown to pieces. Because the truth is usually much more interesting, and nuanced, and complex. For context, I suggest you read my last blog: https://www.davidleenelson.com/single-post/2019/03/20/The-Retired-Vet-The-Retired-Teacher-and-Me Basically, during the course of my radiation, I’ve been seeing the same three peopl

Radiation happens every day. At the same time. For several weeks. Some people are on it for two weeks, some people go for six or seven. Mine is scheduled for three. There are two other people who have appointments at around the same time. The first day we just smiled at each other and stared at Good Morning America. Now it’s like we’re old friends. One of the people is an older African American gentlemen who was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer. He’s comes with his daug

They play music in the radiation room. As I’m on the machine, hands above my head, looking at the fake painted skyline, tunes are emanating from the speakers above. It’s a different station every day. On Friday they were playing Maroon Five. Which felt right. Few things feel more cancery than Adam Levine’s voice. This morning they were playing country music. To say I loathe country music would be an understatement. Because I super loathe it. I loathe it in the depth of my sou

While in bed last night I was scrolling through twitter. Because I think problems of the world to be the last thing I should see before falling asleep. Gives me things to dream about. One of the items in my feed was a link for this comic I used to do shows with in New York. We weren’t friends or anything. He probably wouldn’t even know my name. He was several rungs up the stand up ladder from me at the time. But I thought he was hilarious, and if we happened to be on a show t

Radiation treatment is strange. I’m on this table for ten minutes and then they’re like, “See you tomorrow.” By 7:30am I’m halfway through a Blonde Roast having already completed major treatment for the day. And it feels like nothing is happening. The machine barely even makes sound. The urinal in the lobby makes more noise. I’m starting to get suspicious of these technicians. Are they secretly turning me to an X Man? Are they curing my cancer and giving me a place in the Ma

White people. Is there anything we can’t ruin? Please pardon me, I’m in a bit of a rage black out. Here I’ve been wasting my white privilege on sitting in Starbucks without making a purchase when I should have been committing treason and lying my way into Yale. This morning at radiation they were playing CBS This Morning in the lobby, and they were discussing the college admissions cheating scandal that broke yesterday. I had spent most of yesterday reading about the story, b

I had my first out of body experience as a nine year old boy. It happened at Bob Jones University. Bob Jones University is an extremely conservative Christian college about ten minutes from my parent’s house. We were there on a field trip. We were there to go to the planetarium. I had never been to a planetarium before. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. My class walked single file into the dimly lit room. Some trippy, space age music was playing. It was