May 17 – Introduction, Liberty, Missouri and Ellis, Kansas

         Returning to Estes Park this early spring with Debbie and friends, Steve Zweig and Susan Even, is special. Last October, following a DVT discovered in Vail Hospital, Debbie and I drove over Trail Ridge Road from the West to settle in a cozy condo on the banks of the Fall River about a mile from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. There we stayed only two evenings. The first morning we woke to discover that the Republicans in Congress had shut down all national parks in the country, including our favorite. A blizzard was forecast for the end of the week, and the city was recovering from one of the worst floods in its history; these two events coupled with the fear of another pulmonary embolism, led to the decision to leave our beautiful setting and return to Missouri. After six months we are now heading back to that cozy condo in search of serenity and peace as I continue to live fully with cancer rather than spending all my time fighting it. Life is good.

Ollie cheered on as Daddy graduated!

         Departing on the Saturday following our son-in-law’s graduation ceremony – soon to be an RN from the #1 nationally ranked School of Nursing – we leave with smiles on our faces. Not only proud of Andrew, but leave with memories of “Oliver” looking on in amazement. Yes, Olie, is the joy of lives these days.

         A planned stopover for lunch in Liberty, Missouri with Jeff Moore and wife Rae, his friends from Eluthria (island in the Bahamas), Dudley and Miss Lee, my son Mike who drove up for the occasion, and little Joe, the Moore’s grandson. The three guys on the same side of the table at Panera’s, in a consecutive row, are living with cancer – Stage IV, pancreatic cancer (Jeff), Stage IV, nasopharyngeal cancer (me), and Stage II, anal cancer (Dudley) – all kindred souls with similar horror stories of fragmented unmanaged care in the U.S. health care system. Nevertheless, there was an affinity between us and we shared many a laugh about life and times with cancer.

         While some have issues about sports in Kansas, in general, and the state of Kansas, in particular, I love driving across it. You can sometimes see five separate thunderstorms at once, the stars at night are spectacular, the Flint and other hills in the East are moon-like and peppered with all kinds of history, and the flat high plains in the West have a special feel as one can imagine the wagon trains crossing them. On this day Debbie watched our Missouri Tiger Softball Team defeat a Kansas team in the NCAA Regional, this on an iPad hooked into our car radio – we had both audio and video! Wow, technology keeps amazing us all. We will listen to the regional championship game tomorrow as we cross into Colorado.

         We arrived in Ellis, Kansas about 5:30pm and quickly walked Chewy about the grounds. He loved it. Walking across the highway we enjoyed a fantastic Mexican meal at the Cancun Restaurant followed by a wonderful stroll in residential Ellis; the highlight of which was St. Mary’s Cathedral erected in 1909, it was stunning. Next to it was a Catholic school, the parish priest’s home, and a huge playground. We imagined carriages bringing members to the church, others arriving my horses, and still others walking from their various neighborhoods to worship in this great edifice.

         The Chrysler Home (his birthplace) is here, huge silos, a major train-track connecting Missouri and Colorado, a couple of gas stations including a Casey’s, and a hangout for truckers who want an easy off, easy on oasis along Interstate 70. It is located about 14 miles west of Hays, Kansas, and we highly recommend it; we will stay here on our return from the mountains.