Okay, folks - a wedding, a song, and a surgery

Erika is now my wife. David M. set "If I Was A Bat" to music at my request and played it at our  wedding. (David also did a brilliant version of a Bruce Springsteen song - I think the title is "If I Should Fall" - morphed together with Ben E. King's "Stand By Me.") There were lots of pictures taken, but I am not going to post any here, now. Well, maybe one. There's also some stuff on my Facebook, or that of Erika's, or some of our friends - I am sure more will surface and that the intrepid can find a few others out there.  Linda, Erika's Mom, made a very tasty cake, her friend Laurie did a charming and meaningful handfasting, and most of her people (and a few of mine) were on hand to ensure it was a beautiful day. Even the weather decided to clear up for a bit, giving us a beautiful background (Duncan Meadows Golf Course, for the record) in the midst of a week of rain and gloom. It's pretty amazing we got it all together in a few short weeks. after my cancer diagnosis came down the chute (I think it was eleven days, actually, though we'd already bought clothes and such for our original May date; we were at least slightly prepared).

Anyhow, there is more to this story than I can do justice to, given that I have to be up to get to the hospital in about five hours. I will probably not be blogging much while this is happening. I had hoped to put up some more music and film writing, but I'm being optimistic that I will have plenty of time, as I heal, to catch up on projects yet to be completed. (Tom or Adrian, in the event of some disaster, if one of you could finish and publish my Ryszard Bugajski interview, in tapes to the left of my desktop, that would be great; but a lot of transcription and editing is required!!). Thanks to everyone who has wished me well and encouraged me, and to everyone who sent us congratulations or such. I have a lot to be grateful for. It is all quite positive and humbling.

Meantime, this is how "my" version of "If I Was A Bat" sounded, in my head, before David M. definitively set it to music, presented here along with a little video I made for Erika on the off chance that, say, they decide my whole tongue needs to come out and I never get to clearly articulate words like "I love you" again.

This is, of course, unlikely. I have a dramatic, unforgiving, even sadistic imagination. I will fall asleep under anaesthesia tomorrow, and wake up changed, but with some luck (and a skillful oncologist), I won't be changed THAT much, and I'll be cancer free. There will be no accidents, no infections, no unwanted bleeding, no discovery of metastisis or growths or such previously unrealized, etc. I will lose some tongue, heal up, and get on with my life. Right?

Wish me luck. See how happy I was, just a few days ago? I am very, very glad we got married before the surgery. (Love you, Erika!).

See y'all soon.