Wednesday, May 6, 2026

     We dress in our puffer warm jackets in this foggy chilly morning to sit on the park bench. We meet and talk. I am not sure it will work on such a damp cold day.  But here we are talking and laughing. Too older women who share a social worker background.

      It is the dogs and their humans who make me nervous.  Dogs bite me and spread poison oak.  Not all dogs, but dogs in my past. As the dogs approach the bench I say, I am afraid of dogs. The humans tighten their grip on the leashes and tell me their dog does not bite. I am embarrassed to be such a coward and yet I am afraid of dog danger. Am I the only human with this unpopular fear?

     In the afternoon I give my roommate a ride to her appointment. I sit in the car listening to a podcast on the latest treatments for bladder cancer. In the 5 years of my treatments, many new treatments have been developed. Kinder, easier treatments that may or may not be more effective, and may not be kinder and easier.

    I continue to read Tana French’s new book THE KEEPER.  The book is long and thick with atmosphere. While reading I am living in a small Irish town filled with secrets and mystery. In the evening we are committed to finishing up the TV shows we have started.