Life is a Highway

Life is a Highway. Life is like a road that you travel on, when there's one day here, and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand, sometimes you turn your back to the wind. This week’s highway passed through hills and many valleys in 7 short days. The week started on some hills. The road was winding and had some new potholes. Physical therapy was more tiring than usual. Michelle seemed to have a harder time recovering. One thing I’ve learned from this journey is when Michelle’s body is telling you something – Listen. We canceled the second therapy session for the week. Things started to go downhill from there.

Michelle came into the living room one morning before 7am, in excruciating pain. She was having a hard time taking a deep breath. Without hesitation, I took her to the Emergency Room. Taking the Toll Road, we made it to the hospital before 8. I assumed the path to see an ER Doctor would be fast, my assumptions were never so wrong. Michelle had an EKG, blood tests and an X-Ray. The ER doctor saw her around 11am and told her that it looked like pneumonia. She did not present with pneumonia; the doctor ordered a CT scan. This is where they tracked down the culprit. It appears that the cancer in the right lower lobe nodule of her lung has spread. This has caused breathing issues. They gave her antibiotics while she was there, then gave her a 7-day prescription. Oncology was consulted and they agreed that it would be more comfortable to be home than admitted to the hospital. Radiology Oncology will call early next week to arrange for treatment on the mass in the lung. Not the drive through the valley we wanted in our week for sure. At least we are in the comfort of our home instead of in the hospital over the weekend. 

Imagine a sharp stabbing pain in your lungs with every deep breath you take. Her subtle grunts of pain every 10-15 minutes leave me feeling helpless. Our hope rides on radiation once again. We shall see what next week brings. So much for never feeling pain.

Highlight of the week We walked down Sparks Road together to check on a mama duck who is sitting on her eggs. We are hoping to get ducklings to spotlight Luck ranch soon. Michelle rested for about 20 minutes then we headed back up the boulevard to the house.  Michelle is so excited about the idea of ducklings on the ranch. About 28 days after beginning incubation the eggs hatch together. This takes about 24 hours. The ducklings stay in the nest for at least 10 hours while they dry and get used to using their legs. She can have as many as 20 ducklings. The interesting part of this is she only laid one egg per day, but all her ducklings hatch together. They may hatch this week.

Random Fact of the Week Our traffic lights were adapted from the railroads. While the red, green, and yellow lights on our roads are universal the world over, they weren't originally created for cars. The idea of signal lights was first used on railroads to prevent train collisions. The idea worked well enough that, once the technology was perfected, the signals were adopted all over the world. The original pattern was red for danger, green for caution, and white to go. However, since white could have been easily missed against a starry sky, green became go, and yellow was put in as the caution light.

Throwback Love Story This throwback Love Story is from 2010, when I surprised Michelle with a trip to Panama City Florida. 134 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010, so by July many tourist towns like Panama City Florida were losing money faster than the Deepwater Horizon lost oil. I decided to capitalize on the opportunity and book flights, hotel and entertainment for 4 days in Panama City Florida. Saving close to 70% on the trip, I thought we would live like royalty. I bought everything for the October trip in July and decided not to tell Michelle. Small hints would do. Each week leading up to the trip I would give her a futile clue or 2. I was working in Dallas at the time and remember leaving on the Monday prior to our trip, telling her I would see her on Thursday, reminding her to get off her night shift early. I gave her nothing more. Wednesday night we talked. She asked where I was and if I was picking her up? Could she drive her car? Did she need a suitcase, or could she just pack her clothes in the car? What to pack? Did she need a passport? I told her no need for a passport, pack like you would if you were staying in Texas. I told her that she could drive but I’d advised her to pack a suitcase. The next morning, she was irritated when I called, “Where the hell are you?” she asked. I said, “We will be together soon. Go to the airport and scan your credit card at the Southwest kiosk. A ticket will be printed for you with all your information”. She called me from the plane and said, “I freaked out when I saw Panama City because you said no passport was needed, then I realized it was Florida – womp womp” “Where will I meet you?” I just replied with “I have that taken care of, I’ll see you soon” Only Michelle would put up with this, right? (How many of you thought of that 5 sentences ago?) Michelle had a layover and a plane change in Houston. I too had a layover from Dallas to Houston but no plane change. Michelle walked in to find a seat on the Southwest flight from Houston to Panama City Florida. She saw me in the front row with open arms. “I love you Michelle Luck! Happy Anniversary” Those around us started to cheer. It was a fun and exciting memory. We had a seaside view hotel room, right on the beach, Michelle’s happy place. Many more stories from this trip, for another time.

Turnpike Daytime TV Michelle enjoyed watching several movies this week. One hit was “The Taking of Pelham 123’ (Netflix) Chaos reigns in the New York City subway system when heavily armed criminals, led by a mastermind named Ryder (John Travolta), hijack a subway train and threaten to kill everyone on board unless a large ransom is paid. Dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) uses his extensive knowledge of the transit system in a bid to outwit the hijackers and save the hostages, but one question remains: even if the hijackers get their money, how can they possibly escape?

Another fun watch was “Security” (Netflix) A former elite soldier now works as an employee of a security service in a shopping center. During his job he gets caught between two fronts and must protect a female witness from a gang during a storm.

She started watching the comic book series “Sandman” (Netflix) When the Sandman, aka Dream, the cosmic being who controls all dreams, is captured and held prisoner for more than a century, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused.

Primetime Turnpike TV We have not watched the “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV) season finale yet but plan to soon. We did, however, finish the season of “Yellow Jackets” (Showtime). We continue to enjoy “FUBAR” (Netflix).

The new series of the week was “Citadel” (Prime) The global spy agency Citadel has fallen, and the memory of its agents has been erased. Now, the powerful Manticore crime syndicate is filling the power vacuum. Citadel agents must remember their past and find the strength to fight back.

The second new series is Neil Patrick Harris’ comedy “Uncoupled” (Apple TV) A man has had his life turned upside down after his partner walks out on him after 17 years.

“Interstate Tavern”

The Menu

Snacks

Vanilla Pudding

Pear & Cottage Cheese parfait

Popcorn

Potato chips

Entrees

Wings-4-Lucks

Grilled seasoned chicken with pasta and vegetables in a three-cheese sauce

Homemade Pizza with garden fresh tomato sauce and homemade dough

Honey Turmeric Chicken

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya

Fried Shrimp

Ranch Beef Skillet Supper

Vanilla Pudding

Sides

Egg Noodles

Crinkle Fries

French Style Beans

Cauliflower Rice

Ranch Style Beans

Stir Fry Mix Veggies

Vanilla Pudding

Deserts

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dark Chocolate

Vanilla Pudding

Italian Ices

Drinks

Lemonade

Vanilla Pudding (LoL)

More Chalk

La Croix (Berry and Razz-Cranberry)

http://LuckDragStrip.org