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Showing posts from November, 2011

Baby You're A Rich Man

How does it feel to be
  One of the beautiful people?
  Now that you know who you are
  What do you want to be?
  And have you travelled very far?
  Far as the eye can see.  Baby you're a rich man,  Baby you're a rich man,
  Baby you're a rich man too. This time of the year offers an odd mix of Christmas joy and New Year's anticipation. You'll find the rare station still playing classic Christmas carols, trying to retain the warmth of the season, while at the same time racks covered with paparazzi magazines listing the best things of 2011.  You'll find lists with the best news stories, best movies, best celebrities, best looking, the best scandals, and the best scoundrels. One list that never misses attention is the richest people.   We list those who have the most family wealth at the end of 2011, those who were paid the most money in 2011, and even those that lost the most money in 2011. Some of these stories are

And Your Bird Can Sing

You tell me that you've got everything you want And your bird can sing But you don't get me, you don't get me When I was a teenager I thought my future was pre-determined. I didn't have the athletic ability to become a professional athlete nor the interest in becoming a lawyer. I was going to be a musician, writing songs, playing guitar, and singing in a band. I took the typical first step toward my goal, buying the first guitar in a pawn shop and taking lessons. Once a week I would head down to La Habra Music for lessons and each night I would slide on the turntable and play over the loud music coming out of my cheap speakers.  With the help of my teacher I was able to learn how to play chords, a couple simple riffs, and eventually my first song called "And Your Bird Can Sing" by some band named The Beatles. I must have played that song a hundred times, each time imagining the excitement of being on stage. Thankfully my parents were gracious enough to

Hello Goodbye

You say yes, I say no
 You say stop and I say go, go, go Oh, no You say goodbye and I say hello Hello, hello I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello Hello, hello Last July, I wrote the post Two of Us where I first shared the story of Mike Stanzione. As a reminder, Mike is a Pompe patient who has faced many of the same struggles other adult Pompe patients do, but with a twist.  While Mike had the same challenges with muscle weakness, respiratory deficiencies, etc., he wasn't able to manage them in the comfort of his home.  Rather, due to his 24 hour dependency on a ventilator and his health insurance, he was required to stay in a hospital.  The twist is Mike's hospital stay lasted over four years with no end in sight. When I met Mike last summer I was inspired.  I was inspired because despite the steadfast position from his insurance company who said he could not go home, he continued to believe that his stay was temporary. I was inspired by his