Kickass and cancer perspective

Kickass, the doorstop dog, rejoices with Phyllis and the keeper at the news that Phyllis’s cancer has responded positively to a regimen of chemo, and that treatment will be extended for another three sessions.  Though side effects of the drugs are very significant, there was never a doubt about Phyllis’s decision to continue with them.  She will spend today at the UW’s Carbone Cancer Center with the drip-drip-drip from the see-through bags overseen by an incredible staff.  This all, of course, puts things into perspective, but it doesn’t mean that Phyllis is any less enthusiastic about making her traditional fruitcake and getting her Christmas tree in place.  The keeper, in the meantime, is suffering from car fever, for which there does not seem to be any treatment other than to stay off Craigslist and car lots.  He needs to follow Phyllis’s example and work with reality: Just because his old fishing limo needs constant repair is no reason to lose faith in it.  It has 4-wheel drive and will navigate the keeper’s mountain-road driveway on future trips to Carbone.  The keeper needs to help Phyllis with the fruitcake.