Rant #3,594: Hope and Deliverance

As you are reading this, I am in the dermatologist's office once again.

I found out last week that that lesion I had on my scalp was pre-cancerous, and it must be removed.

Some people are very prone to this, and I am one of them.

This probably had to do with my scalp's interaction with the sun from years, even decades, ago, and even when I had a full head of hair 

But the lesion grew over time, and it became cancerous, so I can certainly live without it.

When I received the news, I was in the middle of doing a long and involved project for work, so after getting the call, I stopped for a moment, and then, I picked up where I left off with my work--

I mean, what else could I do?

Shrug it off, and move on.

This weekend, my wife, son and I saw a performance by forever-Monkee Micky Dolenz at Westbury Music Fair, and that really was the salve for what ailed me.

He put on a nice show on Saturday night, much more laid back than in the past, singing many--but not all--of the most popular Monkees hits and telling stories of his time in and out of the spotlight.

What is great about this theater is that it literally is Long Island's "local" theater that has been drawing top acts to its stage--not revolving for this particular show--for the past 60 years.

And the place is so local that you will always see people you know there in the audience.

We saw a couple of friends, the head of the athletic program our son is in, and believe it or not, we also saw one of our son's former teachers when he was in the local school system. 

She remembered him and us, and we had a nice conversation--

Which continued as we went into the theater itself, as she and her husband sat right in front of us!

Earlier on Saturday, the holiday season started for me, as it always does, and has each year for the past 58 years, when I heard my favorite Christmas/holiday song on the radio for the first time this season.

"Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen is the song, and this 1966 tune will always mean "the holidays" to me, both Christmas and Hanukkah.

The B side, "It Kinda Looks Like Christmas" is also a great song, and I have often said that maybe a "Hanukkah version" of "Snoopy's Christmas" might be in order, but right now, this Jewish boy will settle for the original.

So as I get this thing removed from me today, let's hope that this will be it for this type of thing, and that I never have to worry about such things again.

One can only pray for this goal to reach fruition, in this time of lights, hope and celebration.

Yes, it kinda looks like Christmas and it kinda looks like Hanukkah ...

Both just a little more than a week away!