The Groundhog Report

hi kids –

Happy Groundhog Day! My friends in the northeast probably would like a word or two with that sucka.

I thought I’d put out a little update – probably the last ‘official’ one for a while.

As advertised, I toddled myself off to Dr. K’s office for a case review and to work out the plan going forward. I thought I would share the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version so that you can smile with me. 😀

The Crux of the Biscuit

The course of chemotherapy and radiation is complete. No further treatment is necessary. According to Dr. K, the result so far is better than expected. Side effects were minimal, and all of my bloodwork today came back excellent. My blood pressure was even the lowest it has been in about 10 years, and I’m maintaining 170 – 175 pounds consistently!!! Neuropathy could take up to 6 months, but is expected to disappear completely.

He actually said that whatever I am doing, I am doing it perfectly. I told him I simply followed his recommendations to the letter, tried to find something to laugh about every day, and smoked as much 420 as possible. He chuckled. I chuckled. Alexa chuckled.

What’s Next?

In about 8 weeks I’ll have another CT scan to have a look at what remains of the tumor’s carcass, and then surgery to remove those remains. In three months I will have a final follow up battery of tests, they’ll remove my transfusion port, and I will hopefully be free of this mess. I hope to celebrate by going to the driving range a few times to see what it feels like to swing without a pillow stuffed under my shirt, and then go play some golf. Hey – some folks go to the gym. I like to beat the ground with sticks. After all – golf is flog spelled backward!

Other Upcoming Stuff

Although random kamikaze molecules continue to bombard us, plans are in the works to get back out there and strangle strings in front of innocent spectators. I am happy to announce that I’ll be playing at the Mountain Shadow Music Festival in the foothills of North Carolina, tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 6-8. Mountain Shadow is a labor of love for Bob Barber, proprietor of the former Second Fret Coffeehouse in Statesville, NC. You might recall that Second Fret was ‘Mecca’ for the Piedmont Folk Scene in the late 2000s. The lineup so far is superb, and will only get better.

I’m excited to have the opportunity to get out in public again. This year’s Mountain Shadow will be a semi-private affair due to the aforementioned random kamikaze molecules. Attendance is by invitation only. If you are interested in attending a Covid conscious festival, please reach out to me via this form[1] on my web site. I’ll be glad to add you to my guest list. Heck – if you’d like to play at Mountain Shadow, hit me up – I can certainly put in a good word for you. I know someone who knows someone … 😉

And Now For Something Completely Different

While this Covid business has been raging, a lot of really cool stuff has been happening to fill the void left in the absence of live music. One of those cool things is an undertaking by a fellow named Ron Olesko, who has put together a little internet radio thing called ‘Folk Music Notebook'[2] featuring some amazingly talented musicians. You might want to check it out.

FMN recently did an ‘Emerging Artist’ sort of thing featuring folk music DJs from around the country and some of the talent that they like to feature in their programming. One of the acts that caught my attention was a group called ‘South For Winter'[3] out of Nashville. If you are looking for something new to fill your ears while you navigate the highways and byways, they may be just the thing to do it. Their music is an interesting amalgam of Celtic, folk, jazz, classical, Seattle Grunge(?), pop and I even heard a slight nod to Blodwyn Pig and Peter Green in there. Seriously – they are a fun listen. Definitely a departure from standard Nashville fare!

That’s It For Now

As always – thanks for reading, and thanks for accompanying me on this journey. It has been an eye-opener for sure. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Until next month ….

– Matt
#keepsmiling
#refusetolose