last of the benefits

dark, dark, dark outside,fire is glowing and comfy. cat is somewhere underfoot, an occasional brush by and quiet meow letting me know he's important and worthy of notice. i think we're all that way a little, being around and making noise to be noticed and attended to. i know i am, and i have beeen noticed lately.
last week we had our 2nd and 3rd benefits. thursday last, i walked into page middle school cafeteria and found the room half full of families and friends either gathering or serving large plates of spagetti, garlic bread, heaps of salad and desert and beverages. so much food, so many friends, so much attention being paid to Peggy and me. Peggy, Mandy and I arrived with two of my brothers, Kurt and Charlie who were equally amazed to watch the line of page people continue to fill the room and their plates with yummy dinners. even the servers and helpers and volunteers must have been surprized as they smiled and struggled to keep up with hot food for hundreds. Fantstic night, I wandered about the room and tables, visitng and sharing memories with dozens of parents and former students and staff showing off my latest hair style (none) and accepting best wishes and hopes for better health. it's funny but just being at the fundraiser and sharing the caring made me physcially feel better, and recharged my batteries. thanks to so many: robin, roxie, paul and his spagetti bowl crew, jk, paula, and shelly, teona with kaysee and the dessert department, ticket takers, lake view and high school folks, even real pros - kitchen gals1, the invisible helpers in the back kitchen and all who made the evening both possible and a success. i love you each and all and the food was delicious.

We spent the next day getting ready and traveling to the canyon to meet more family and friends for party #3. What a party it was. went by the community building early to check out the room and holymoly, ligths being strung around the room, tables set and decorated with linen and st. patrick's day deco, a long line of tables holding donated goodies, more tables of donations in the big room, tables of desert, acres of salad and dozens of pizzas being delivered, chips and salsa along with adult beverages and drinks for kids like me. Best of all was the band, Exit 64, setting up on stage. great music gear and a Light show. Julie and Paul arrived from flight from Cali. on friday night and Wes and Alena, arrived after marathon drive from Minn. sat. afternoon. So now we are 4 siblings and all 3 of our loving kids; Mandy, with Nicci and kendra (SB girls) never would miss a party like this.
Impressive.
Whoa, i just glanced up and i see the brightest red glowing sunrise above Navajo Mountain to the east of our house, a wide flat vermillion layer of ocean clouds covers all the eastern sky, from overhead to the horizon. I feel like I want to climb into those clouds suck in their warmth and traverse the world with them for the rest of the day, they look so inviting. I can see my body streched out and relaxed as the wind that shapes their beauty. as I covered the globe I'd cry out wake up world, time to warm up and watch beauty greet your morning. Then I'd fall back onto the cloud bed,close my eyes, breath deeply and sleep like a forgotten sunrise, ignorant of my cancer and the pains, tensions, medications, chemos, doctors, and hundreds of other details that have become a part of our lives. See, I'd have Peggy there beside me as wel
l.

Impressive. back to party at the canyon- got there and met hundreds of frieds. some we've knnow for dozens of years. i can only begin to mention a few ringleaders: Terry the video master, dan and eddie the ticket masters, bob and laura who can and do anything, kay and ted b, tommy t, shelly, madman, and gracie, sheila and guy, dave the food guy and his xanterra gang, kevin, judy queen of deserts, pete and becky with cayla, beth, eric and sue, greens-room at squire used - and the Phillps did a house swap with the Fuhrmans; them in San Luis Obispo area.
Thank you all the special guests like old and new neighbors - old being booths and new being caorl a. So many other special guests like lori and scott, keith and nancy, bob s, wendy, stacy,nora, mike,jackie,sissy and tom, chuck, and on and on and on......

so food and drink was served, people danced, i danced, raffle was held, i spoke, i cried, danced some more with precious peggy-oh, and visited, talked and gabbed with hundreds of friends who care about us. what a night. Highlight? tooo mannnnnnny. one being the first "sunrise" song. i laughed and cried when wes picked up a guitar and played some of my fav. notes in the blues world. We stayed late, danced too hard with family and friends, and laughed till we ran out of breath and energy. was A party. thanks to all who gave us such a great time.
love and laughter, marcus