Democracy in action

On the surface, this may not look like the greatest week the New York legislature has ever had, but it did accomplish something of significance.

Sure, it adopted a joke of a deficit-reduction plan that merely puts off hard decisions for a few months, in essence digging the state's fiscal hole even deeper than it was. The action reinforced the notion that when the going gets tough, most lawmakers just want to duck.

Even the "reform'' of higher pension contributions that was part of the package was marred by enough giveaways to unions to make those worried about the long-term fiscal health of the state whether it was worth it.

The more significant action, though, was the defeat by the state Senate of a bill to legalize same-sex marriages, which failed 38-26.

While obviously a setback for the cause of marriage equality, the vote was a rare instance of lawmakers going on record on an issue that didn't pass.

More typically, leaders count heads and not make their members make a "tough'' vote if the issue was likely to voted down.

But this time, because of intense pressure from supporters of the idea and some arm-twisting by (he admittedly weak) Gov. Paterson, the issue was brought to a vote and many lawmakers who had been firmly on the fence had to come down on one side or the other.

Unfortunately there was little debate, with only one lawmaker on the prevailing side bothering to explain his position.

The supporters have vowed to work to unseat those who voted no and replace them with people who share their views. The opponents say they'll work on the other side.

That's how the system is supposed to work, but rarely does at the Capitol.

Back to ol' chemo routine

It was back to the ol' chemo routine today after almost a month away from it. As usual it wasn't a bad experience, but I have to brace for the effects that usually hit the next day. I expect to be more tired than my (now) normal semi-exhausted state.

The stuff (technically, gemcitabine) burned a little more than usual going in, but a hot pack and the diversion provided by Emily's cousin, David Jacobowitz, who stopped in for a visit, brought relief.

I was also hit again by the routine of it all. There must have been more than 20 people in the room all getting "infusions'' of various types - most of whom looked normal in most respects. If you saw them the street wouldn't guess they're cancer patients, except for the ones who have lost their hair and choose not to wear wigs. Of course, it makes one wonder about the problems and hidden heartaches of so many people walking around out there.

It's two more weeks of the same cycle, then a week off that happens to fall on Christmas week. Then I have tests and doctor visits planned to gauge what happened as a result of the cyberknife treatments that I had three weeks ago. Then we'll plot a strategy from there, which will most likely include continuing chemo in some form.

Guest missed already

We took my sister-in-law Judi to the airport today, and she is now winging her way back to California after spending the last two weeks here.

This is the second time since I was diagnosed in June that she has traveled across the country to see us, and I miss her already.

She has provided not only invaluable help with chores like food preparation (especially Thanksgiving) cleaning up and shopping, she has been an amiable companion for me and someone on whose shoulder I can (and do) literally cry.

For Emily, who needed a break from putting up with not-always-cheery me, she also provided welcome company, and her nieces had an all-too-infrequent chance to connect with her.

Even though she has lived in California for almost as long as I have known Emily, we have stayed closely connected over the years. As a long-time corporate human-resources executive who retired about eight years ago, she has always made time for family - and especially for fabulous cruises and other trips she's taken the girls on.

When she was struck down by an unusual arm disorder last year, Emily went out to California to help out her only sister (a brother died as an infant).

The relationship is different now, with me most in need of comfort, and she once again has come through. I'm already looking forward to her returning later this winter.

For everything there is a season

We walked this morning in the midst of a snow flurry - the first flakes of the year and the best indication, along with flipping the calendar page, that winter is on the way.

The main excitement about snow has always been that skiing will soon be possible. I'm hoping this year to still to be able to do some cross-country trails.

But of course winter will mean different things to us this year than it has in the past. First off, we're planning to take a cruise in January - something we have both long resisted because it seemed like too sedentary a way to spend a vacation, but now seems to fit our needs better. Best part is if I need to just sit or lie down, I can do that while the rest of the party can go have fun.

I also have a heightened sense of coziness this season. One of my real delights now is coming in from the cold and sitting or lying with a blanket on me, snug and warm. The best part of the day for me is feeling that coziness when I wake up, and knowing I don't have to leave the cocoon immediately to go out and face the world.

Christmas will also be a far different holiday as well this year. I hope I can use the opportunity to reflect on the joys that remain in life and not on what has been lost. Certainly I will appreciate another excuse to gather with family.

In praise of public works

From left, Emily, Ellen, Judi, Janice and Jay at Lucifer Falls

There's a story in yesterday's NY Times about the end of the era of big public-works projects, and a column today about the need for a national WPA-type jobs project to get the unemployment rate down.

Both stories took on added relevance because of a hike we took yesterday at a place called Lucifer Falls in Ithaca, a spectacular natural attraction made accessible by a WPA project that built trails and stairs on either side of the natural cascade more than 70 years ago.

Those government workers, hired with taxpayer money when the unemployment rate was two or three times more than the current (10 percent-plus) rate, cut footholds into the rock that enclosed the falls so that generations present and future could get the sense of wonder that falling water seems to inspire.

The point of the Sunday Times story was that large-scale public-works projects seem to have ended for the time being with the completion of Boston's Big Dig two years ago, just as the recession was starting to hit. And yet, the story pointed out, big projects like bridges, dams and highways have often spurred economic growth and generated far more wealth than they cost to produce. The Erie Canal and the state Thruway are two often-cited examples.

The federal government has of course been spreading hundreds of billions of dollars around as part of its stimulus package to get the economy rolling, but most of it is targeted for small-bore projects that can be started quickly.

It's no small irony in New York that even as the government was searching for projects to spend money on, a key bridge across Lake Champlain was nearing the end of its useful life, and is now closed, disrupting life for thousands in Vermont and the Crowne Point area of New York. It's not clear where the money is gong to come from to replace it, and for now travelers are being asked to make do with a ferry.

After our spectacular hike, it's easier to understand the importance of public investments, even in down times, and how there are some things government can do that need to be done, even if the private sector can't be harnessed to do them.

Now, does anyone have a few billion dollars lying around for a new Tappan-Zee bridge across the Hudson? That will surely pay off in the long run. It's the short run that's the problem.

Road Trip

Today we took our first trip out of town unrelated to cancer since I was diagnosed in June. We drove about three hours here to Ithaca this afternoon.

Ithaca prides itself on being "centrally isolated," with almost no divided highways in all of Tompkins County, where it is located. The world's longest driveway, I-88, which runs between Binghamton and Schenectady, ostensibly built to aid the commute of former Senate Majority Leader Warren Anderson of Binghamton, gets you only about half way here. Then it's all back roads through hard-scrabble looking countryside until you emerge in what some people refer to as the "People's Republic of Ithaca" for its liberal politics.

We made that trip so that we could all see the miracles Janice has wrought with the 140-year-old house she bought last year. With the help of my carpenter brother, a handyman tenant and various tax credits, she has turned what appeared to be a crumbling structure into a cozy and lovely home. The roof, windows, hardwood floors, furnace and a hot water heater have all been replaced or refinished.

It's on a "transitional block" near downtown and her house is helping to tip the neighborhood in a positive direction.

This being New York, the taxes, of course, are outrageous. But the STAR program as well as a couple of tenants are helping Janice, who makes a modest living as a graduate student, keep her head above water financially. That's one more thing to be thankful for.

Laverne & Shirley

My sister-in-law Judi's best friend is named Shirley. So while doing a charade trying to get people to guess the title of the TV show "Laverne and Shirley," I merely pointed at her and then pointed to the empty space beside her. For some reason, that didn't work.

So next thing I went for was lavatory, figuring "lav" was the first syllable of Laverne. But the closest response I got was "peeing all over the world."

I actually solved the dilemma by aping the explosion of a volcano with lava flowing down the side. From there, it was a short jump to title of the 70's comedy.

Yesterday's charades game may be the beginning of a new tradition. We had Thanksgiving at our house for the first time in memory with Judi, my brother Neil, his wife Wendy, Ellen, Allyson, Janice and Charlie the dog all travelling hundreds of miles to be here.

Previous Thanksgiving traditions have been very important and meaningful to me but traditions evolve as situations change. It's nice to have a potentially new tradition to look forward to.

Here's a video of my charades triumph: