Confession #2
A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to be a closet fan of pro-wrestling, and while I did not get much of a reaction from folks (perhaps it wasn’t as much of a surprise as I thought), I had at least one friend (whom I respect greatly) tell me that she grew up in Texas watching the Von Erich family do their thing in World Class Championship Wrestling. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one. 
This weekend, a good friend of the family celebrated his 50th birthday with a very nice party, to which my family was invited. My younger son and his son have been friends since pre-k and Jerry and his wife are just plain good people. As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife and daughter were off camping with the girl scouts, so it was just me and the boys at the party. The boys were set — Jerry’s son has a Wii that was the focal point of the evening for the “yutes.”
Now to my confession — I’m shy. I know it sounds odd for many of you — you know the outgoing, loud, sometimes obnoxious Merle. When I get nervous or shy, one or two things happen, I either quite down or I get louder. In many ways, the outgoing behavior people often see is actually a reflection of my nervousness about my situation.
Back at Jerry’s party, I sat there, not knowing anyone and trying to get up the nerve to join a discussion, but I realized that except for Jerry and his family, I really didn’t know anyone and it just felt awkward (on that night) to go up to folks and start talking. I was eventually able to slide into a conversation or 3, but a lot of the time I just sat in the family room listening to music and/or watching TV.
Interestingly, I thought a lot about TumorPalooza and the fact that the friends from very divergent and separate areas of my life will likely come to the party. There will hopefully be folks from church, karate, scouts, and work, as well as some family members, at the party and the reality is that most will not know anyone. At Jerry’s party, I just kept wondering what it will be like for my friends at TP II.
On the health front, I am taking a giant step today…I’m going back to my general practioner for the first time since my diagnosis. I figure I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not worrying (all the time) about my cancer, so it might be worthwhile to get my GP to check my other parts. I’ll let you know how things turn out.
More later.
Merle
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