What a time we had, Rosie, old girl

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	12.1	13-17	v
Platelets	170	140-375	v
ANC	3420	1800-8300	^

Jill and I love to watch old movies, some of them older than we are! Now that's old. One of my favorites, from 1952, is  "The African Queen," starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. In case you are not familiar with the movie, which was based on the 1935 novel by C. S. Forester, it takes place in East Africa, during WWI. 

Hepburn plays the part of Rose Sayer, the sister of an English, Methodist missionary, whose mission is located in a remote African village. The only contact with the outside world comes in the form of a mail boat called the African Queen. Her skipper is a gin drinking Canadian by the name of Charlie Allnut, played by Bogie. When German soldiers burn the village, including the Methodist church building, Rose's brother is so distraught that he suffers a heart attack (or maybe it was a stroke) and succumbs. 

Rose is left alone and must rely on Charlie to evacuate her from the remote area, where she is unable to sustain herself all alone. They embark on a journey downstream from the village to civilization. Rose learns from Charlie that the river eventually flows into a large lake, patrolled by a German armed patrol boat, the Louisa. 

Charlie's drinking and vulgar language are a trial for Rose, but her decision that they must follow the river all the way to the lake to sink the Louisa is equally a trial for Charlie. On the trip down the river, farther than Charlie had ever been, they encountered huge rapids,  a German fortress firing on the Queen, and a waterfall. Nevertheless, along the way they manage to fall in love, steeling their now mutual resolve to sink the Louisa.

Somewhere among the trials, Charlie, looking back over their experience of the day, says, "What a time we had, Rosie, old girl. What a time." Jill and I have adopted that line to refer to an especially satisfying day.  

What a time we had, Rosie, old girl. What a Christmas time. If you follow this blog, you may recall that in 2023/2024, I spent Christmas and New Year's Day in Sunnyside Hospital receiving more chemotherapy after my second relapse of AML. Well, this year we were able to celebrate Christmas like normal people. We decorated. We shopped. We baked. We wrapped presents. We visited our son and his family for a gift exchange. We had our daughter with us for Christmas day. The season was almost perfect, except for New Year's Day, when the 13-0 Oregon Ducks football team, recently crowned champions of the Big 10 conference, made a dreadful performance against Ohio State University in the Rose Bowl. 

Even that, could not truly dampen our spirits, because God has brought us through three and a half years of battling leukemia together. My health is returning to the robust nature it had before leukemia. My lab work continues to be stable or improving, and our medical team continues to be amazed at my progress. So, Merry Christmas and Happy new year to you all and to us, as we celebrate a new beginning, like the Phoenix rising from its ashes; our redemption story.

Oh, and as for the movie, Charlie and Rosie made it to the lake and managed to blow up the Louisa, using homemade torpedoes. The endings in the original novel and the movie are slightly different.  I recommend you read the book and see the movie. Put them on your NY resolution list. I think you will enjoy both of them. 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace... (Ephesians 1:7)