I’ve experienced many life-changing events over the years, but there is one that sticks out in my mind: Breast cancer.
I’m not sure that I’m ready to write about this yet, but I’ll try.
I was diagnosed in 2021 after finding an indentation in my left breast. Things moved quickly after that. It was Stage 2 and chemo started within a few days. It made me so sick and emotionally fragile; I was either screaming or crying. It was like that for months! I’m still not the same person I was. My memory is shot and I have trouble learning things sometimes. It’s difficult for me to focus at times, which makes for more challenges. This is as good as it gets, I guess.
After chemo I had a bilateral mastectomy. No way was I taking any chances on this horrific disease returning. No reconstructive surgery, either. To me, that’s an invitation for that shit to return. And why would I want another pair of those things? They tried to kill me for Cripe’s Sake! Besides, they’d caused me nothing but trouble since they sprouted. Who needs ’em?
Anyway, during that time I’d lost 26 lbs. and the rest of my teeth. And of course, my hair fell out which isn’t going to grow back, apparently, until I can quit taking estrogen blockers. Drawing on eyebrows is still a trial, but I’m getting better at it. As for my head, I have lots of wigs. They aren’t all that expensive and last a while if you take care of them. If anyone is in need, try wigs.com . Be careful though, wigs can be addictive.
So now that the drama has subsided, I’m trying to figure out my life. I retired from my job last week and am getting back into write regularly like I once did. Sometimes I am numb and other times I feel as though a stranger who used to be me has inhabited my body, and I have to get to know this person.
It’s time once again for Song Lyric Sunday! This week, our host Jim Adams has asked us to choose a song that relates to weather conditions such as cyclones, floods, hurricanes, rainfall, storms, tornadoes, typhoons, or winds. I chose A Little More Summertime, by Jason Aldean.
The reason I chose this particular song is that it came out just about the same time I moved from Ellington, CT back here to Birmingham, AL. It broke my heart to leave but I could no longer afford to live there. My job only paid $13.00 an hour. I tried to stay, though. If only I had a little more time, money, etc… I ended up filing for bankruptcy, launched a Go Fund Me page on Facebook (which bought me another month and some groceries), and nearly ended up homeless with four cats to worry about.
Plus, my then-estranged husband was seriously ill with prostate cancer.
Okay. I know when I’m licked.
The Story
A Little More Summertime was released in 2016 on Jason Aldean’s “They Don’t Know” album.
Written by Jerry Flowers, Tony Martin and Wendell Mobley, this song finds Aldean mourning a summer love lost: “‘A Little More Summertime’ really hit me the first time I heard it,” Aldean said. “It’s always been about the vibe of a song for me. So when that chorus hits and the song takes off, I knew it had to be on this album.”
This was one of the first songs Aldean and his producer Michael Knox found for They Don’t Know. “There was just something really cool melodically about it; it was a little different than some of the things we’ve had in the past,” the singer told reporters. “The thing that really grabbed me was the U2 guitar stuff going on right before the chorus. You know, that was kinda the vibe I gave [the band] when we went in to cut the song; I was like, ‘If there’s a vibe we’re going after, it’s U2. Just think about that when you’re playing it.’ It was just really cool.”
Wendell Mobley provided the vocals on the demo, which set a high standard for Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany (who is in the video), helped persuade her husband to cut the song. “I was actually headed to my house in Florida, in my Jeep; I’m driving through this little beach town, and I’m listening to this song,” the singer recalled. “I had a CD of songs I was listening to for the new album, and I’m driving through this little beach town as the song comes on, and it was almost like something out of a movie. My wife was sitting next to me, and she fell in love with the song. That was pretty much it. I had to cut it.”
The Lyrics
They boarded up this water town Ain’t nobody hanging around Another grey September day Was I crazy to think she’d stay?
If that sun had just Hung up in that sky Just a little Just a little bit longer If those blue water waves Could’ve stayed at our feet Instead of going out with the tide If that wind was a friend It’d still be blowing in Like a warm southern whisper on her She might have stayed forever And never ever left these arms If only I
Had a little more summertime I brace myself against the cold And let her memory take hold Stirring that old fire up As if I don’t miss her enough.
If that sun had just Hung up in that sky Just a little Just a little bit longer If those blue water waves Could’ve stayed at her feet Instead of going out with the tide If that wind was a friend It’d still be blowing in Like a warm southern whisper on her She might have stayed forever And never ever left these arms If only I
Had a little more summertime Just a little more summertime
If that sun would have just Hung up in that sky Just a little Just a little bit longer She might have stayed forever And never ever left these arms If only I
Had a little more summertime
Songwriters: Wendell Mobley, Tony Martin, Jerry Allen Flowers. For non-commercial use only.
The somonka is a Japanese form. In fact, it’s basically two tankas written as two love letters to each other (one tanka per love letter). This form usually demands two authors, but it is possible to have a poet take on two personas. Click here for a refresher on the tanka.
Time for Fibbing Friday! This week Di has chosen a Greek theme using these words below.
1. Perseus: The Greek god of purses, handbags, and wallets. 2. Ares: The god of Air. 3. Achilles: The god of plantar fasciitis 4. Poseidon: the god of poison and adventures. 5. Medusa: Goddess of snakes and bad hair days 6. Athena: Goddess of military recruiters 7. Hades: The god of dirt and worms 8. Apollo: The god of rockets and space travel. 9. Cronos: The god of patricide and stolen genitals. 1o. Hermes: The god of very expensive purses and handbags.
Ergo, the Ogre 