What a time...

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	12.3	13-17	^
Platelets	66	140-375	v
ANC	2480	1800-8300	v

"What a time we had, Rosie, old girl! What a time!" That's a line from one of my favorite movies, "The African Queen." Coarse and scruffy river barge operator Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) rescues prim and proper missionary Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) after the native village in sub-Saharan Africa, where she and her brother have been serving, is burned by German troops in the early days of World War I. Rose's brother dies after the raid. Charlie helps Rose bury her brother and then offers to transport her down the river to civilization. 

In spite of her demure aspect, Rose is infuriated by the destruction of the village and the church she and her brother founded, not to mention the loss of her beloved brother. They board Charlie's barge, The African Queen, and head down river. Along the way, Rose learns that the river has it's terminus in a large lake. Charlie explains that the lake is patrolled by a German ship, the Luisa. Rose decides they need to go all the way down the river to destroy the Luisa. 

Charlie tells her it is no use. There are rapids and waterfalls and a German fort overlooking the river so no one can pass. No-one has ever gone that far down the Ulanga river. Rose replies, "Then how do you know we can't do it?" She asserts herself, and eventually Charlie, who is gradually becoming smitten with Rose, agrees, with a great deal of trepidation, to try. They make it past the first couple of rapids with Rose at the helm. They pass the fort, which fires upon the African Queen but fails to sink her. 

Eventually they reach the first waterfall rather unexpectedly, and it is too late to turn back. Of course, they make it down the falls, with some damage to the boat. When they pull over to the bank, they are exhausted and exhilarated and relieved. Charlie breaks out a bottle of gin (much to Rose's disdain), makes Rose a cup of tea, and they have a little celebration. That's when Charlie speaks the line at the beginning of this post. 

Now, why in the world did I go into all of that? Well, that line, "What a time we had, Rosie old girl," has become a byword between me and Jill, whenever we have a fine day or an excellent experience. One of those family expressions that lives on. 

A week ago today, my ANC hit 7,440 (See "Good Things..."). It seemed like a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. We were like ravenous wolves in a meat market, trying to decide what to do with our "Get out of Quarantine Free" card. We had people over on Friday. We had more people over on Saturday. We went shopping at places besides Amazon. We attended church in person on Sunday morning. It was glorious. "What a time we had, Rosie old girl! What a time." 

Monday's labs showed a decline in ANC  to 2,980, still well within the safe zone for my immunity. Tuesday we brewed a batch of Pale Ale. Wednesday we had simultaneous appointments in different parts of Salem. Jill had a dental appointment. I had my penultimate visit with my Physical Therapist, who has done wonders with my frozen shoulder. I drove myself! 

And that brings us up to today's labs, reported in the Box Score above. Notice that my ANC is still well within the safe range. We are planning to attend granddaughter Ryanne's track meet this afternoon in Eugene and celebrate her sister Megan's birthday afterward. 

To say that this has been an enjoyable week just doesn't quite cover it. We also look forward to longer chemo cycles so that we may anticipate more times like these, living the dream! 

What a time we had, Rosie old girl! What a time.

P.S. Check out the movie here.  I think you'll like it.