Mohs and waiting rooms

 I HAD Mohs surgery to remove skin cancer Monday. Normally my face hurts people. Now my face hurts. I wore a big scary looking bandage over 10 forehead stitches all day yesterday. But the cancer is gone.

A few months ago I went to a free skin cancer screening offered to Blessing Hospital employees. It was at Dr. Elise Scoggin's office at 12th and Broadway. She came in and looked at my face and said, "Uh oh." Turns out there were two spots that looked suspicious and several other "pre-cancerous" spots. 

All those years in the sun being dumb undoubtedly contributed. Now I wear a hat and use sunscreen liberally. But you can't undo being a beach bum and wanting a sunburn. I should have had this checked out a long time ago.

I came back a few months later to have biopsies done on the two spots, and to have the dreaded liquid nitrogen sprayed on the others. One of the biopsies on my forehead came back positive for skin cancer, one of the common types. So I showed up Monday morning and prayed it wouldn't take all day.

Mohs involves using a local anesthesia, removing the piece of skin and then analyzing it on a slide for skin cancer and to see if they got everything. I was warned it could take all day. Sure enough, it took two tries to get everything out of there and five hours overall.

First of all, Dr. Scoggin and her staff were tremendous. While she was mining for treasure on my head, I greatly appreciated them breaking down the best rides at amusement parks and the horror stories of rides failing and people getting hurt. Educational! They were talking about risks involved and I told them I drive to Hannibal twice a day for work and defy death on a weekly basis. They faked being impressed and resumed talking about all the ways you can die on a roller coaster. My kind of peeps!

Apparently Mondays are Mohs days for Dr. Scoggin. There were seven or eight patients in the small waiting room, most of them older men and almost all of them with spouses. It was fairly quiet but of course there was the one guy a little louder than most. We all had to hear many times about how he had no idea he was going to be there all day. It was clearly explained to him, I'm sure.

I'm going to give Nancy at the front desk a lot of credit. She deals with crabby people on the phone all day. She had to explain many times about getting a physician referral before making an appointment, etc. Also she brought out cookies, really good cookies, and kept the coffee pot brewing. You can have all the highly-trained medical people you want in a doctor's office, but people like her are the glue and she's pretty awesome.

I got done and Dr. Scoggin stitched me up and they put the big bandage on my face and I went home and took a nap. About 5 p.m., the anesthesia wore off, and .... well. Ouch. They suggested ice and Tylenol (no blood thinners). I've thought about taking something stronger but I didn't want to miss work Tuesday, so I sucked it up. And it sucks.

But ... Mohs has a 98 percent success rate in removing skin cancer. So I'm good.Until I get the bill.

I took the bandage off this morning and really, it's not  .... horrendous. Below is the pic, if you dare look. My brothers says floppy hats on the golf course and just tell people I was in a hockey fight. 

Take care of yourselves, people. Even if it's one Mohs stitch at a time.

 

 

Downtown rocks on a Saturday night

 ALLISON AND I had a blast at The Pour Haus Saturday night. We played in the courtyard and the weather was perfect. Allison’s mom and dad always come see us play and they brought a ton of people, and some of the Blessing Lab Brats showed up. It was … glorious!

My friend Jenny took this amazing picture of us playing Stray Cat Strut. Actually we don’t do it. The Pout Haus adopted two alley cats and the live in the courtyard. To me, seeing a cat slink around is the ultimate compliment - cats are picky and they both liked us. 

Just down the alley, Quincy Brewing Company had a band and it was packed. All night long people wandered back and forth between the two venues. 

Win win win! The bars did big business, people had a great time and the musicians cranked it out.

The Sixth Street Promenade project is coming along and it’s going to be so nice. I appreciate all the businesses staying positive during the construction and mess. Big things are happening downtown and it takes a lot of vision and patience to make it happen. 

Saturday night was an example of what is and could be, and Allison and I were honored to be a part of it. 

Busking in the park

 SATURDAY MORNING IN Washington Park, Travis Hoffman and I are playing at the District's Farmer's Market. Vendors are lined up along Hamphire Street on the north end of the park. We are "busking," a polite way of saying we are playing for tips.

As musicians we tend to get waylaid by our gear and sound and the latest toys. This gets thrown out the window when you busk because all you have is your guitar, a park bench and a tip jar. It's entertainment in it's purest form and freeing in many ways. We just have to sit there and play. No cables, no volume levels, no inner ear monitors to monitor, nothing.

Just. Play.

Travis is a great guy to jam with, and this kind of setting is right up our alley. I'm trying to think of songs to do in the park, like "Saturday In The Park" by Chicago or "Down On The Corner" by CCR. With Travis you never know what we might pull out to play, but that's not the point because we are just part of the whole vibe, not the focal point of anything.

I'm also doing the Farmer's Market with Allison Hutson in two weeks, which will be great for the both of us as we have several big shows lined up toward the end of August and September. Before that, Allison and I are playing Aug. 17 at the Pour Haus courtyard just a couple of blocks up the street from Washington Park.

It's supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow morning and Brianna Rivera, executive director of The District, says this year's Farmer's Market has been huge. I went a few weeks ago to catch the awesome Katie Smith and buy homegrown catnip from Fawn Berry, and there were people everywhere. There were interesting vendors and and it reminded me of the Fifth and Maine days when we used to saunter down there before opening on a Saturday morning.

Travis and I will be sitting on a park bench in the middle of it all, strumming and humming from 10 a.m. to noon. If you are out and about, come say hello and enjoy a beautiful morning in Washington Park!

Madness Divine and the new album

 

AFTER SIX LONG months, our little trio has ... a thing.

We call ourselves Madness Divine after a line in the first song. We wanted to call ourselves Cellar Dwellers because we recorded it in Adam's basement. There were many other suggestions, few fit to print. But we had to come up with something because we were ready to submit the eight songs for distribution.

The name of the eight-song project is called West Of 12th Street. I've lived west of 12th my whole 28 years in Quincy. Many people have a stigma about the area of town you live in. They are ignorant. But maybe they can't help it.

It took six months because we'd get together every few weekends and knock out different parts in a few hours. It's a good way to do it because time helps you judge stuff.

It's out on all the streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and YouTube.

Here's a bio of each performer. We are doing the Traveling Wilburys thing and going under assumed identities. We are not in the Traveling Wilbury's league. But we do sneak around using fake names and job titles.

CHRISTOPHER ADAM (Adam Yates) - Drums, keyboards, engineer, producer. We used his basement recording studio and he spent countless hours refining and turning shit into sugar. One night when playing a gig with Prospect Road, somebody asked Adam what he did for a living. "I work for the sanitation department in Quincy," he said. "Well, it's a living," was the reply. So true, on so many levels ..... So Adam is the Sanitation Engineer of Madness Divine.

FILBERT (Justin Sievert) - Bass, acoustic guitar, vocals. One night after a Prospect Road gig in Plymouth, Filbert got us lost coming home.  In fact, "McDonough County Exit" was a strong contender for the album title. So Filbert is the Navigation Coordinator of Madness Divine. And I have no idea why he is called Filbert.

DIRK WHITEY (me) - Guitar, vocals. The nickname came from a Central Michigan University professor nearly 40 years ago. He invented a town and we had to interview the weird characters in the town and write stories. He named the characters after students. Dirk Whitey was a pinball arcade attendant. And that's my job title for Madness Divine.

THE SONGS (links to YouTube).

Your Kind of Crazee (Hart) - Not about one specific person. It's amazing how many people I know with, uh, hyper personalities. They kind of steamroll you and you can't live with it or without it. It's YOUR kind of crazee, not YOU ARE kind of crazy. It's a possessive thing.

Love Letting Go (Hart) - This one has been around awhile. Probably a leftover Funions song ... we did this song in the original Sidewalk Chalk band in 2012. It's got a simple message - you can often help somebody the most by simply letting go.

I'm The Man (Hart) - Adam coaxed some pretty good guitar out of me for this one, some great ideas to mix it up. This one has a jazzy and bluesy feel. It's about a guy who is in charge and uncomfortable with being in charge, because people expect him save the world, "When in fact, I'm gonna crumble to the floor ..." 

The Ship Was Going Down (Sievert) - A unique way of looking at something that is sinking. Amazing job by Filbert playing acoustic guitar and bass. And singing. And he wrote it. Killer!

West of 12th Street (Hart) - Made up many years ago after a person was critical of somebody moving into Calftown. Them's fighting words, friend. I kept messing up on the king and queen part, you'll hear it at the end reminding myself of which is which.

Guard Down (Hart) - We started recording a couple of songs that just weren't working, or, in one case, recorded in the wrong key. GUH. So this was a very late addition and kept pretty simple, and works for that reason. It's about being content and not expecting anything to happen by keeping the guard up. Then it goes down. Is there much you can do about it?

More Is Most (Hart) - This was an idea I came up with when Allison Hutson and I were working on Whatevers songs last year. Adam's piano is the best part of this one. Filbert's bass is fat and juicy too! And it's yet another song about saying "screw you" to regret. It won't do ya no good, friend.

One More Thing (Sievert) - Adam did a fabulous job recording and engineering these songs, and I love the way Filbert's acoustic guitar and my electric guitar blend on the rhythm tracks. And the piano is sublime. Actually it's bleeping kick ass, especially at the end.

MADNESS DIVINE, West of 12th Street

All songs Copywrite 2024 D. Rodney Hart, except One More Thing and The Ship Was Going Down, Copywrite 2024 Justin Sievert.

 

 

Vacation needed after the vacation

Sunset in Douglas, Mich.

GETTING BACK FROM a vacation is a drag. I spent most of last week in the old stomping grounds of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was glorious. And not long enough.

You are supposed to feel ready and rested after time off. BWAHAHAHA. Right. 

This was the first time in 35 years I've spent more than a day or two in Grand Rapids. Much of the city has changed, mostly for the better. Some stuff never changes. We stayed at an Air BnB near Burton and Eastern, a block from a house I lived in during the summer of 1985. Time changes memory and recollection, I supposed. The porch didn't look as big and the house now has siding. But it was the same place. 

Downtown GR is completely different, and that's a good thing. We were there for a family wedding in the Harris Building, and 40 years ago you wouldn't dare be in that area at night - South Division is so much nicer now.

I ate dinner at the Last Chance Tavern on Burton, and the Garbage Burgers are still the best. Of course we had to hit Yesterdog in Eastown. We even played golf at Indian Trails, which was just up the railroad tracks from the family residence on Rosewood. The course got a massive renovation a few years back - much shorter now, with new holes. The infamous seventh hole along the railroad tracks next to Jolly Roger and the football stadium is now two holes on the back 9. But there was still a lot of deja vu for me and my brother, Stephen. 

I got up to Belding Thursday for some of the Gus Macker 50th anniversary festivities. Scott McNeal is still all fired up. I played golf with Macker legend Jerry Fike, saw a bunch of other guys I've hung out with at many a Macker tournament. 

There was even a family gathering in Zeeland. Our kids are rarely together in one place, so nice to see. My cousin Roland and his amazing wife Amy hosted and it was all tall tales, laughter, beverages and music. 

Now I'm back and getting ready for work and I'm exhausted and all I want to do is find a Lake Michigan beach and collapse. Because of vehicle issues the trip got delayed and beach time torpedoed, but we did have an incredible late afternoon and evening beach time near Holland.

I need a vacation. After the vacation. Oh well. Onward and back to real

Wait. Has anybody seen my golf clubs ..... ?