What was to be the 70th summer of my life became the summer of the fight of my life. In June, an MRI revealed a blockage in my bile duct which turned out to be cancerous. In July, I underwent a surgical procedure called the Whipple. I am currently undergoing an aggressive chemo and radiation therapy program that will continue into February of 2025. I feel very confident that I am going to be ok. Also, I feel really, really good! Better than before my surgery. I feel so good, it is difficult to wrap my head around the fact that there is anything seriously wrong with me.

The writing prompt for the Chatham Memoir Group was “Angels In My Life”. For some reason, Jackson Brown’s song, “These Days”, popped into my head and I started scribbling down words to fit the tune. Please keep in mind I don’t consider myself to be a poet, but my effort to fit the prompt and the song follow.

Angels In My Life

Ernie Stricsek©

I was told that I had cancer

Of the cause there was no answer

Those days

I was full of anger, dread, and tears

Then the angels of my life drew near

And I saw I had nothing to fear

My wife is my first angel

Of her love and devotion, she’s so giving

These days

She has made me feel not afraid

To live each day as all is fine

And that I’ll be around for a long, long time

My other angels are so many

Family, friends, and Doc’s give me reasons

All of these days

These days I think and hope

Their love and care will guide me through more seasons

I’ve been given a second chance

The rest of my life will be a different dance

The prompt for the Chatham Memoir Group was “Beginnings”. I heard the Emerson, Lake & Palmer song, “From the Beginning”, playing somewhere. Thinking about my earliest memories and where we lived at the time, I began to string some lines together in my mind.

In the Beginning – Lanza Avenue

Ernie Stricsek©

There are some things I can recall

Fire trucks screaming by

Sirens and lights new to my eye

We sit on the basement steps

The landlord nods with a smile

He shovels coal from a pile

Fragments in my mind

In my mind I can see

When it was my mom, dad and just me

In the beginning

Classical music on the phonograph

Hunters searching the woods

Peter catching the wolf

I jump and leap to an Offenbach tune

There’s a knock on the door

The landlord tells us no more

In my mind I can see

When it was my mom, dad and just me

In the beginning

Across the street looms Saint Stan’s Church

The bells sounding loud

The colorful crowd

I remember the bassinet

First with my brother Ken

Then my brother Dave

In my mind I can see

A family larger than three

Memories of the beginning