September 13, 2002|<\/p>\n
NOTE: Make sure to watch “Good Morning America” on ABC on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 from 6-9AM. I’ll be in the audience along with others from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society promoting “Light the Night.” (http:\/\/www.lightthenight.org\/) <\/strong><\/p>\n September 11, 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t plan on writing anything today. There is already information and media overexposure going on. Why contribute to the madness?<\/p>\n But the wind. The wind today is like nothing I\u2019ve seen in my two years in New York City. It is omnipresent.<\/p>\n I walked on the patio this morning to a stiff breeze swirling the branches of the oaks overhead. While rollerblading later on in the park, I was pushed to my utmost limit as I skated straight into gust upon gust. There was no escape as it seemed to be blowing from every direction. Watching TV this afternoon, a dust-storm brewed in the pit where the World Trade Center once stood. The characteristically composed reporters at Ground Zero struggled to be heard as their microphones picked up nothing but the wind whistling by.<\/p>\n Is this wind, this draught, this squall really a coincidence? Is it there to remind us that there are matters, occurrences and events we will never understand? Is it a gentle reminder today to help us recall our purpose in life? Is it a reminder that something, Someone, is in charge? Is it a memorial- a heavenly memorial?<\/p>\n \u2018My heart is in anguish within me;<\/p>\n The terrors of death assail me.<\/p>\n Fear and trembling have beset me;<\/p>\n Horror has overwhelmed me.<\/p>\n I said, \u2018Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!<\/p>\n I would fly away and be at rest-<\/p>\n I would flee far away<\/p>\n And stay in the desert;<\/p>\n I would hurry to my place of shelter<\/p>\n Far from the tempest and the storm.\u2019<\/p>\n -Psalm 55:4-8<\/p>\n \u2018I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.\u2019<\/p>\n -Ecclesiastes 1:14<\/p>\n \u2018Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?”<\/p>\n -Proverbs 30:4<\/p>\n \u2018They were terrified and asked each other, \u2018Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey Him!\u2019<\/p>\n -Mark 4:41<\/p>\n \u2018Can you see God? You ever seen him? I\u2019ve never seen the wind, but I\u2019ve seen the effects of the wind, there\u2019s a mystery to it\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n – Billy Graham<\/p>\n September 9, 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n Ante Up<\/strong><\/p>\n Did you ever make a promise to do something and then completely forget about it? Did you then emphatically deny any such promise was made, only to have it subsequently shoved back in your face with a written document? Wasn’t it such a beat-down?<\/p>\n Back in February, in the middle of my transplant, I sent out a flurry of thank you notes to various individuals who contributed vast amounts of time, effort and resources. Included in that category was my brother Billy. He was the most important of the contributors- for obvious reasons. I must have been in some sort of chemotherapy drug-induced haze when I wrote his note because a month later Billy asked me (voice-cracking and all) \u2018Where\u2019s my steak dinner? You promised me a steak dinner!\u2019<\/p>\n I retorted, \u2018You\u2019re smoking crack! I never promised you a steak dinner! Crack smoker!\u2019<\/p>\n Billy deviously grinned. He sprinted to his room and returned with a piece of paper. \u2018Thank for your saving my life. I owe you a steak dinner\u2026Art.\u2019 He gleefully read.<\/p>\n \u2018Dang!\u2019 Caught red-handed.<\/p>\n My mom let out a loud whoop that the neighbors could hear.<\/p>\n \u2018Dang!\u2019<\/p>\n On September 20, 2002, an assorted group of friends, family and myself will gather at Ruth\u2019s Chris Steakhouse to recommence the \u2018Celebration\u2019 Dinner. (You are certainly welcome to attend, just RSVP with me.) Billy will be leaving class early, making the trek from Philadelphia to Manhattan, in order to feast on a free filet. Maybe I\u2019ll even pay for his fixins and creme brulee. At least he doesn\u2019t have that in writing\u2026I hope.<\/p>\n Speaking of Steak…<\/strong><\/p>\n At my last doctor\u2019s appointment, Dr. Perales, after giving me the great news, proceeded to scold me. And you wouldn\u2019t believe why. Can you believe I was scolded for eating TOO healthy?<\/p>\n This summer I made a determined effort to eat healthy. No more sugar. No caffeine. Vegetables. Fresh fruit. Few carbohydrates. Lots of white meat. If any man were going to keep this cancer away with nutrition, it would be me.<\/p>\n At least that\u2019s what I thought.<\/p>\n In the meanwhile I didn\u2019t gain an ounce. I actually lost weight, falling to an all time Art-low. I was down to my junior high school weight. “You look like an anorexic Calvin Klein model.”<\/p>\n Once Dr. Perales uncovered the reasoning beyond my low weight- he gave it to me good. He abused me like a red-headed step child. None of the books, articles and reports I had read were scientifically true he said. All of the hype about blueberries, green tea and broccoli were just that- hype. Not an ounce of scientific proof verified that such foods are anti-cancer. And sugar- it has never been scientifically confirmed to increase cancer cells. He let me have it good. My parents sat by, nodding their heads in approval. \u2018How could you believe such tomfoolery?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018But in Lance Armstrong\u2019s book\u2026and in that Nutritionist\u2019s Guide to Cancer book\u2026and in\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n So now I am on a new diet. It\u2019s called the \u2018Eat Anything Diet.\u2019 I find foods I like and I eat them. Even better, it’s doctor recommended and approved.<\/p>\n I still generally stay away from caffeine and sugar, they make me even more jittery than normal. Otherwise, I am loading up on protein shakes, steak, chicken, grilled corn, grilled bananas (my Brazilian roommate\u2019s favorite- don\u2019t ask- it tastes like Elmer’s paste), pasta, ice cream, burgers, fries, pizza, burritos\u2026I\u2019m going to town.<\/p>\n Thanks to all for your wonderful words of encouragement. The road to recovery is long, arduous and filled with potholes. Thank you for fixing my flats, furnishing fuel and wiping my windshield. It’s been a blessing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" September 13, 2002| NOTE: Make sure to watch “Good Morning America” on ABC on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 from 6-9AM. I’ll be in the audience along with others from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society promoting “Light the Night.” (http:\/\/www.lightthenight.org\/) September 11, 2002 I didn\u2019t plan on writing anything today. There is already information and media … Continue reading Light the Night<\/span>