Anchor Struck

For this post I’m playing off the recurring phrase “and so it goes” from Kurt Vonnegut’s nonpareil 1969 novel Slaughterhouse Five, which opened me to a much wider world. I don’t know if he coined the phrase — advice to accept whatever life chooses to send your way — but it has reverberated through pop culture since. Musicians ranging from Nick Lowe to Perry Como to Ratking to Taylor Swift released songs with that title. There was a British TV show by that name and even an episode of NCIS.

At age 79, a lot has come and gone in my life, much of it fleeting pleasure, enough of it pesky pain. You don’t stack up as many birthday cakes as I have without learning how to roll with the punches. I just had a significant punch. My left lung has collapsed for the third time. In March of last year I had surgery to fix it and it was fine until a month ago. My doctor thinks this leak will heal itself, so I’m on light duty at least until my next X-ray in two weeks. I’m sitting comfotably, and, as always, I’m under constant nursing supervision: my beloved Jude.

I will certainly keep you in the loop. In the meantime I have a lot of baseball and football to watch.