"Staycation" Walk: Bankers Hill

May 13, 2010

Jacarandas in bloom on Bankers Hill.

Eclectic residential architecture on Bankers Hill, including an Irving Gill restoration (beige house with an iron gate and Mission-style exterior lighting).

Self Realization Center (former campus of Bishop's School day camp site). Note elephant sculptures and lanterns in front.

Restored 1912 Spruce Street Pedestrian Bridge. Note: lush Spruce Canyon was carpeted in nasturtium flowers this mid-May day.

Apologies to readers: Due to cancer recurrence that affects the left arm, commentary is brief and may not be located exactly where it should be.

We are trying a second round of chemotherapy, to see if another partial remission occurs. Let's hope so.

Life's U-Turn

Dear Readers,

On August 7, 2009, Doug was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer at age 70. This happened despite the fact that he has never smoked. Needless to say, this has been a severe test for us going forward.

Meanwhile, we will publish an occasional POSTcard from our previous travels, and POSTscript updates from our archives. We feel fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to travel as much as we have. We still expect to do some short trips near home as long as we are able to go out and about.

Later on, we will post blogs about the orphan status of lung cancer research. This is largely due to the stigma of lung cancer's association with smokers. But non-smokers are definitely at risk due to environmental factors and genetic mutations (the latter is likely in Doug's case).

Meantime, we will live life to the fullest, and welcome hearing from our readers!

November 2009 Update: After six weeks of chemotherapy, Doug has experienced a "significant partial remission" of the cancer. Although total remission is not in the cards, Doug has been able to resume most of his normal activities and feels like himself. We will enjoy this time by doing some short trips in southern California.

Doug & Marie