i hear chemo is really annoying

i spent a fantastic weekend in providence, ri and nearby block island, celebrating last week's new and kicking off my summer. i lived in southern rhode island for about a year, teaching kids about tree hugging and puddle stomping and snowball throwing. i guess it was more like tree identification, ponding for aquatic critters, and tracking through the snow, but there was a healthy dose of play mixed in. i've liked heading back to ri to visit ever since. the feel of providence is that of a small town, but it is a fairly good-sized city. there is no shortage of good food and fun things to do if you're feeling like a day in the city would suit you well. but the mountains lie just hours away, a short 1/2 day drive instead of the 8-10 hour slog from here in pa. and the ocean, oh the ocean, it is so close you can throw a rock and hear the "plop!" from nearly anywhere in the state. i love the ocean, and especially love finding uncrowded beaches during the summer or having my choice of all the beaches in the winter. i miss living so close. it is a comforatble place, and it was a great location to start summer and be happy about not having cancer.

we started the weekend off with dinner at a pizza place that has been voted one of the best in providence. this can be dangerous, because rhode islanders tend to have a warped sense of cullinary greatness, especially when it comes to pizza. but this was the real deal. crispy thin-crust wood fired pizza with incredible tasting cheeses and red onions. i think i could eat an entire pie in one sitting. it wouldn't be a stretch. but dessert was in our future, so i held off. we put a gift certificate to good use at pistache, a cool little dessert-only place in federal hill. i opted for a huge slice of carrot cake while samara went for a chocolate mousse something or other. samara's friend john and his friends decided to share something chocolate but then john caved and ordered his own carrot cake. it was right about this time that one of the afore mentioned "friends" said something like, "yeah, i hear chemo is really annoying to go through" after asking me whether i thought the pain in her left side might be cancer. huh. eight months later i am an expert and can diagnose people. i am not being paid a doctor's salary, though. and annoying? you could say so. you could also say "sucky" and be just as well spoken. you can hire said "friend", a recent ivy-league grad. incredible. i just thought it was funny. i shrugged it off and smiled. i was really glad i had my carrot cake to distract me from making a wise-assed inapprpriate comment in response. maybe i would have made the same comment if i didn't know what i know now. but then again, maybe not.

in any event, the night continued as we talked about recent graduations and listened to ideals of saving the world and shrugging off evil capitalism vs. taking the resume building gig in party-happy miami, things like that. ah, the world as an oyster.

my head hit the pillow exhausted from the long day but content with the good food and friends and laughs.


saturday we spent the day at block island. it was nearly a no-go, thanks to strangely stopped traffic on route 4/1. everyone was getting off at the same exit, and we were guessing it was going to be the one we needed to take (just our luck). it had snarled traffic across three lanes of highway. miraculously enough, we didn't have to exit and once past the exit the traffic thinned to a mere trickle. where was everyone going? maybe we missed out by skipping it but we had a ferry to catch, and we were dangerously late! we ran to the boat, getting tickets at the last possible second, and heading to the upper deck with the engine already straining under the weight of all the drinking tourists and their SUV's. we only had our legs for transportation and opted to walk, scoping out the southeast lighthouse and beautiful rocky beaches below the cliffs. we stole some moments lounging in adirondack chairs at a hotel on a hill overlooking the ocean, before being forced to move on because a wedding reception was set to begin soon. we got a pre-"dinner" swim in, and then enjoyed said "dinner" of celebratory beer, chowder, and onion rings. who says cancer patients have to eat right? well... it was a celebratory, momentary lapse.


the fairy tale setting of block island would be a perfect place to soak up another week of celebrating and napping and just "vacationing" in general. i wish i had the dinero to rent a house and invite you all to a big fat party. but really, the last boat was leaving at 8pm and we had to be on it. the ride was beautiful with the sun setting and the wind whipping off the water. most people on the boat had no hope for peace and quiet, though, what with the drunk birthday party men and the scary "bachelorette" party women, along with the merely drunk college girls, all coming together for a rambunctious photo session on the top deck. it was funny to watch and gossip about.


breakfast sunday was had at a delicious vegan/vegetarian place, with henry the dog (snacking on a carrot, he is a vegan dog afterall) and alex and ricky made an appearance. laughs were had along with the agreed-upon fantastic food. i would go back for the maple pecan banana pancakes at the drop of a hat. they were SO good. and good for me. yeah.

weekends tend to have a keen ability to end too soon, and this one was no exception. i hopped on the plane and enjoyed views of block island below me before diving back into my book ("a map of the world"). i slept through the night, a rare treat these days, and awoke feeling refreshed and happy. i think every morning will be that way this summer. it is a feeling that is hard to shake, and it is so good, i might as well keep it around.