Sabbath/Sabbatical: The Baddabing

I don't know about many things these days.  My health has improved as the result of my treatments (2) and people have started to look at me with a quizzical eye.  I'm 30 pounds lighter than I was a few years back, so I've lost most, if not all, of my middle-age, mid-section bulge.  I haven't lost any hair, and what hair remains has been the subject of unsolicited critical acclaim by strangers, as I mentioned in a prior post.

Donny Brasco sighted recently in South Philly after eating his first Baddabing

 I think folks are a little surprised and maybe - just maybe - a little disappointed that I don't have that wraith-like look that many have come to expect of the cancer sufferer.  I hate to disappoint, and thought about staying up a few nights just to increase the dark rings beneath my eyes; but, like fasting, it's easier said than done. You have to have a higher purpose or calling to successfully submit to sleep deprivation, like being on guard duty along the Pakistan/Afganistan border or attending the Philadelphia Folk Festival and trying to catch every act in Schwenksvillistan.  That sort of  faithful vigilance is not the order in West Philly-stan these days (although try telling that to your friends who live in the suburbs or South Jersey and they just continue smiling at you while making a mental note to Google "delusional ideation  during chemo" when they get home), as witnessed by the recent return and production of Shakespeare in Clark Park. Another  overwhelming success, making it their eighth year in the park.

The How-U-Doin deli, home of the Baddabing

In the meantime....I have been applying for work and learning Spanish.  I am surprised at how much I remembered from high school, augmented immensely by taking up French as an adult.  Spanish comes in handy in the helping professions and especially in Chaplaincy. In any case, there are a lot of Spanish speakers in Philly and all over the region, so I thought it might open up a portal to another world for me.

Catherine McCauley, Foundress.

Honorable Mention Section:  Thought I'd take the time to thank a few individuals at this point who have been instrumental to my care and survival around these treatments.  The first is  Catherine McAuley (1778 - 1841)  who founded the religious order, The Sisters of Mercy, in Dublin Ireland.  The reason that I wanted to thank her is for all the great work that the Sisters/nuns did over the years caring for the sick and the poor.  They are the founders of Mercy Hospital, i.e. Miserecordia as we pre-Vatican II Catholics know it, where I currently get my infusions and other medical care.  When I think of the mess that our current Health Care system is in, it's nice to recall the sacrifice and dedication of these Sisters, when things were a lot less profit driven and a lot more humane.  Everyone is very friendly and the pace reminds you of an old fashioned hospital, where you don't feel like an unlucky pedestrian crossing the Autobahn in Germany on a holiday weekend.  The place still exudes the compassionate character of the order.  As an adult you realize the amount of organization and funding, sweat and tears, that must have gone into the construction and operation of this place.  The hospital is nearly 95 years old and has been serving West and Southwest Philadelphia for all of that time.  It is also part of the larger Mercy Health system.  

• I'd also like to thank my "Goombah", Vittorio, who, after the nausea-inducing effects of my last treatment finally abated, took me to lunch at The Famous Deli, on 4th street in Philadelphia (http://famous4thstreetdelicatessen.com/).   The Deli survived the many transitions of the area around South street that had been for many years the "fabric district" and was primarily Jewish.  So after the last round of treatment,  Vito (not his real name) suggested we meet there for a bite.  I was fantasizing about corned beef as my appetite returned en bonne forme (like gang busters - loose translation from the French).  Vito had just the thing to handle this situation and, as I teach my students learning English,  hit the spot.  
  
  

  Replete and restored to my old self by this unacknowledged institution of recovery, I munched on the customary chocolate chip cookie, took my hefty doggie bag and looked forward to tomorrow's lunch.   The Famous Deli was established in the same era as Mercy hospital; so two older institutions were my help and refuge during this time.  Of course the much older institutions of family and friendship continue to sustain me throughout, and allow me to appreciate these welcome strangers and events as they come into my life.  So thanks everyone for your prayers and listening in.  With Gratitude,   Joe

The Original Corned beef Special of which I could only finish half.  That's a side of latkes between the sandwich halves.