Marsha's Blog

Hello all, I’m happy to say that this has been a pretty “normal” week, at least compared to the past few weeks. Tony’s done with his 39-round set of radiotherapy sessions, and so we no longer have to drive to the hospital every day. Actually, that was a blessing in itself, since under the present lockdown, we’re not supposed to leave the house except for “essentials”, which includes food and medical care. And now, those restrictions are being lifted a bit, so that we can actually drive as far as Brisbane to see Chris and Nicki. Also, some of the recreation areas are opening up, provided we can keep the social distancing rules. Yep, this week, we can honestly say, “Life is good’ But if you know me, that you won’t be surprised to hear that I’m still feeling a bit restless. My sister and I were raised on a mountaintop in Colorado, and didn’t have a lot of chance to get out, except for church and school. One would think a background like that would result in two girls fairly content with a...

This week has been marked by a couple of milestones. First there was the great news about Tony’s health. After 39 straight days of radiotherapy (not counting weekends), he finished the prescribed course that was designed to blast every molecule of prostate cancer. This earned him the right to “ring the bell” under the sign that says, “I’ve conquered this moment”. If you follow my Facebook page, maybe you saw the Grand Event in living color. Afterwards, one of the nurses called him back into a room where she told him with a long face, “Now, your side effects will probably linger for another week or two, so you just have to be patient.” Tony was genuinely surprised, and asked, “What side effects?” whereupon she listed the dozen or so maladies, from mildly uncomfortable to downright dangerous. “But I haven’t had any of those,” Tony insisted. “All I can say is, a lot of folks have been praying for me!” Three cheers for God, and Big Thanks to all of you! Saying goodbye was a bitterswee...

I heard an interesting story a few years ago. Apparently there were four college students who were away for the weekend for some capricious and non-academic fun, and managed to get back noticeably late for a very important exam. As they sped down the freeway and the realization began to dawn, they put their heads together and came up with the perfect excuse. The rest of the trip they practiced it in order to have the story just right.  They would simply say that they’d had a flat tire.   What they failed to consider was that the professor, perhaps having come up against this ploy before, took them individually into another room and asked the same (to their undoing) question:  “Which tire?” There’s even a verse in the Bible that is often quoted, from Numbers 32:23, … and be sure your sin will find you out. I’m pretty sure you could point to a lot of other verses that say the same thing, seeing as how this way of thinking has been with us since time began. ...

In the words of that popular radio broadcaster, Garrison Keillor, in his weekly series,    "It’s been a quiet week here at Lake Woebegone”. Today is Mother’s Day, and we have been magnificently lauded and honored by our children, their spouses and the grandkids. It was a red letter day for Tony, who enjoyed the Beef Bourguignon that our daughter had lovingly made and brought down for the occasion. This was to be his first taste of meat in six months, having stuck to an incredibly strict cancer-inhibiting diet during treatment. The daily laser light sword, as he calls it, will conclude in ten days, and he figures that’s close enough. Not sure how his body is going to react, but he went back for seconds. “Whatever happens, it was worth it!” he insisted.  For those of you on the other side of the world, your Sunday may be just beginning, so I hope you experience some extra love like we did, even if it has to be at a distance.  Keeping my own distance, I try to st...

So as you probably know, Japanese is a difficult language.  To start with, their unabridged dictionary has over 40,000 ‘pictographs’, called “kanji”. Only 6000 or so are necessary to be considered literate, at least to a 6 th   grade level, but the various combinations of these kanji lead to tens of thousands of words, the pronunciation of which can only be guessed at and must be memorized.   I’m sure that’s why Xavier (a 17 th  century missionary to Japan)  described Japanese as “without a doubt, the devil’s language. ”   I know from personal experience that most of our missionaries have struggled valiantly to learn the required 6000 ones! But if that wasn’t bad enough, then there is the LEVEL to be considered. Within Japanese society, there are at least five levels of speech, that which is directed to a child, a servant, a peer, a boss and a teacher, not to mention the discourse one would use when addressing the Emperor. On any given day, whenev...