From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #439 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Wednesday, November 24 1999 Volume 08 : Number 439 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! [MARKEEFE@aol.] the Mint 11/23/99 ["Kim Ranocchia" ] Getcher revoos and shetlishts heah... [Bayard ] PS. [Bayard ] Re: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! [Glen Uber ] Re: News Flash: Zappa's dead [Eb ] Re: Bip Bop (dog & onion) ["Russ Reynolds" ] Re: Now you has jazz [West ] Re: Now you has jazz [West ] Re: Now you has jazz [Michael R Godwin ] RH 100 club ["matt sewell" ] RE: cherub rock ["matt sewell" ] RE: cherub rock [Ethyl Ketone ] RE: cherub rock ["matt sewell" ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V8 #438 ["Gene Hopstetter, Jr." ] Re: Bip Bop (dog & onion) [Tom Clark ] Re: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! ["Jason R. Thornton" I also chatted with Glen about American Football and warned him > that Denver wasn't going to be a push-over for Oakland on Monday Night. I don't want to talk about it. >> I'm sorry to have to do this, and I realize it's in terrible taste, but I feel very much compelled to say, "Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!" :-) I apologize to all Oakland Raiders fans for that outburst. I also wish to add that, in no way, do I condone the throwing of snow balls at anyone affiliated with the Oakland Raiders organization . . . well, except Al Davis. They seem like a much nicer team than in years past and played a very good game of defense (and were only *slightly* worse than Denver on offense). Okay, that is all. - ------Michael K np - "Get Happy!!" (great album!) p.s. thanks to all of you who passed along Elvis Costello recommendations. I've also gotten "Armed Forces" (very good) and, just a few days ago, "Trust" (at least quite good, and probably very good). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 02:12:24 -0800 From: "Kim Ranocchia" Subject: the Mint 11/23/99 Just a brief note to pass along the set list of a very short show (1 = hour)--the previously unannounced show at the Mint. Sinister But Happy Jewels For Sophia Guilford Madonna of the Wasps Queen of Eyes Antwoman America Devil Mask Oceanside - --------------- break - --------------- Birds in Perspex Adoration of the City Beautiful Queen It all sounded great, but was disappointingly short--Robyn was = sandwiched in between two previously scheduled bands, so there seemed to = be major time constraints. Bummer. Hope the Largo show tommorrow runs a = bit longer (the Departure Lounge is the scheduled band, but it's = sounding like all the guys will make an appearance. Later, Marc ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 19:51:56 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: Getcher revoos and shetlishts heah... Robynbase has been updated! huzzah, huzzah. now i can clear out my overflowing inbox. this link will take you right to the search page: http://glasshotel.net/gh/base Extremely largemungous thanks go to all who posted reviews and setlists (especially and tremendously Eddie), and of course Jh3 and his programming of the magic asps, not to mention the lovely green and yellow colour scheme! oh-- and me! I put all the bits and bites together! Praise me like you should. cheers from el glasso hotelo, =b ps. i still need setlists for cinncinati (top cat's) pittsburgh (rosebud) and denver (soiled dove)-- no doubt due to eddie's stubborn refusal to use coherent subject headings! the bastid! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 20:07:44 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: PS. for those who are interested, Robynbase now contains nearly 1000 live appearances and exactly 800 songs Robyn has played. The 800th? Nick Drake's "Broken Heart". ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 18:09:12 -0800 (PST) From: Glen Uber Subject: Re: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! On Tue, 23 Nov 1999 MARKEEFE@aol.com wrote: >I also wish to add that, in no way, do I condone the throwing of snow >balls at anyone affiliated with the Oakland Raiders organization . . . >well, except Al Davis. At least we agree that Al Davis deserves (at least) a snowball to the 'nads. Cheers! - -g- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 21:49:31 -0600 From: Aaron Lowe Subject: Rock Armada (and a proliferation of fegs) in CA Well, I apologize for not having posted about my recent absolutely terrific weekend of fegmeeting, sightseeing, and fuck-ass-rawk-n-roll. In order to be able to make the trip to California, I inevitably fell behind on a million work-type things that I needed to get done. I've been working night and day to get caught up, and I'm more than a little stressed about it all, because I fly out tomorrow morning to Illinois to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. I don't really have much (any) posting time at the moment, but I just wanted to take the time to quickly mention that I had a simply unbelievable weekend -- one that I won't easily forget, ever. It was terrific to meet so many fegs and put faces with all your names -- it was a pleasure to meet each and every one of you. Even if it *is* more than a week after the fact, I'll be posting a lot more about last weekend when I get back after Thanksgiving -- you'll all just have to wait patiently for my return. One quick personal note, though -- Thanks so much, Jeme and Vivien, for putting up with my extreme irritability regarding the potential imminent danger to the rental car. Not being from a place where parallel parking along a busy downtown city street is commonplace, the whole idea just generally freaked me out, especially since the car didn't belong to me. My panic was further compounded by the fact that my parallel parking skills are non-existent, and I got pretty cranky when it came time to park that sinfully long Malibu. And, Jeme, thanks again for your assistance with the navigation. I most surely would have blown a headpipe altogether, if it hadn't been for your help. Happy Turkey Day, U.S.-fegs. I'll be without 'net access for nearly a week - -- it'll be withdrawal-central at my mom's house. Aaron * Aaron Lowe [ aaron@aaronlowe.com ] http://aaronlowe.com "I still hear your voice at night As I turn out the light Trying to settle down But there's nothing I can do 'Cause I can't live without you Anyway at all" ~John Cale _(I Keep A) Close Watch_ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 20:36:56 -0800 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: News Flash: Zappa's dead >>Austin Wiggin paid for a day in a recording studio, >>where they recorded the songs that became Philosophy of >>the World, now considered a masterpiece by some, >>including Frank Zappa, who once called it his third >>all-time favorite album. Okay, who wrote this sentence? >> - John Bitzer Someone should inform Mr. Bitzer that Frank Zappa stopped considering stuff six years ago. - -rUss ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 21:14:33 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: News Flash: Zappa's dead Smartypants wrote: >>>Austin Wiggin paid for a day in a recording studio, >>>where they recorded the songs that became Philosophy of >>>the World, now considered a masterpiece by some, >>>including Frank Zappa, who once called it his third >>>all-time favorite album. > >Okay, who wrote this sentence? > >>> - John Bitzer > > >Someone should inform Mr. Bitzer that Frank Zappa stopped considering stuff >six years ago. I see no problem with the above sentence. I doubt anyone else does, either. What, after someone dies, we're not allowed to quote them anymore? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 21:20:20 -0800 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Re: Bip Bop (dog & onion) >Incorporated into the story was some improv numbers including "Pouring >Through the Encyclopedia", a jazz/blues number "Bip Bop", a short solo by >everyone in the band (including Tim on shakers) Note: The shakers solo was most likely suggested by Tim, who was spotted whispering something into Robyn's ear during the bass solo, and after Robyn laughed and nodded in approval Tim put down his guitar and grabbed the shakers. Turned out to be probably the greatest shakers solo of all time (name a better one). This whole piece was probably the best thing I've ever seen RH do on stage. Not that it was musically brilliant or that the story was so funny (even by Hitchcock standards it was a tough one to make heads or tails of, frankly), but just the fact that it was attempted in the first place, that attempting it seemed to be totally spontaneous, that the piece was at least 95% improvised if not 100% and that, well, the entire band just seemed to be having so much fun. It was one of those moments anyone who has ever heard "Billy The Mountain" spends his whole life wishing he could witness in person. This was no "Billy The Mountain" by any stretch, but it was just as much fun. I think Zappa would have liked it better than anything the Shaggs ever did. By the way, there did appear to be an official videotographer (is that a word?) chronicling the show. Has this guy been spotted in any other cities on the tour? Maybe it was Jonathin Demme working on a sequel. - -rUss ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 21:49:03 -0800 From: West Subject: Re: Now you has jazz Michael R Godwin wrote: > Django Reinhardt is more or less out on his own - some people call him > 'Gypsy jazz'. I thought Django Reinhardt fell under the heading of "Hot Jazz", a la The Hot Club Of France or, more recently, the Squirrel Nut Zippers (who take great pains to point out that they are -- or consider themselves -- hot jazz, as opposed to dixieland). West? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 21:54:09 -0800 From: West Subject: Re: Now you has jazz Terrence M Marks wrote: > I've recently become moderately interested in the world of jazz music. > Unfortunately, I don't know from jazz subgenres. If I'm talking about > "jazz like John Coltrane", or "jazz like Enoch Light", or "jazz like Bill > Berry" or so-on, there's got to be some nice, easy terms I can pigeonhole > things with. I can generally identify dixieland and bebop. What else is > there that I can call things? Incidentally, if you're looking for a really effective jazz term, try this one: Charles Mingus. West? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 09:09:47 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: Now you has jazz Susan Obviously I defer to your extensive jazz knowledge. You know a lot more jazz than I could have picked up in an 8-week course. Responses below indicate either that there are US/UK differences, or that I have got it wrong... > Mr. Godwin: > >The bloke Steve Day who gave the course was heavily into 'Free Jazz', > >which is Ornette Coleman and the like - minimal harmonic content. SD: > Some general terms that might help young Terrence are "straight > ahead" and"outside". This music is outside. It's a less specific term > than "free", which basically means, oh, I dunno, "amelodic". "Outside" is > anything of an avant-garde or experimental kind. MRG: I have never heard the terms 'straight ahead' and 'outside' jazz. I'm sure that our tutor (who has just written a book about Ornette Coleman) would have used them if they were in common UK use. MRG:'Mainstream' is Duke Ellington and related (Lester Young etc.). SD: This I've never heard in my 8 years of being a jazz DJ. I've heard > the word mainstream, to be sure, but not applied like that. This may > present a communication hazard when speaking with UK jazzers :). MRG: Maybe I misunderstood last week's lecture. This week, our tutor described mainstream as "A cross between swing and bebop" - he used (I think) 50s Coleman Hawkins as an example. > Usually Duke Ellington, Basie, &c. are called by the literal term, > "big-band". MRG: To me, big-band means Harry James, the Dorsey Brothers, Basie. Ellington goes through that period but comes out the other side. SD: These bands are often grouped as "sweet" or "hot". MRG: Again, I have never heard these terms, except in the context of the Hot Club de France. MRG: 'Cool jazz' is Kenny Burrell, Stan Getz etc, and merges into 'Bossa Nova'. SD: Why is this bothering me? OK, I think we refer to this differently here too. First off, "cool" had two schools, "west coast" and "east coast". MRG: You obviously know much much more about this than I do. But how can something be 'cool' and 'driving' at the same time? Surely this is oxymoronic? - - Mike Godwin ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 10:43:56 GMT From: "matt sewell" Subject: RH 100 club Hello Anyone know anything further re. the rumours of a gig at the 100 club? Hearing about the performances over the atlantic has really made me hungry for a robyngig! Cheers! Matt ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 11:28:55 GMT From: "matt sewell" Subject: RE: cherub rock I recently got Live Evil by Miles - it's absolutely awesome, though perhaps with performers including Keith Jarrett and John McGlauglin it may be a little proggy for some... Kind Of Blue and Bitches Brew are excellent, haven't heard much else. Matt > >Eb, > > I got Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain by Miles. Birth of Cool >is supposed to be pretty good as well, right? I don't have that or >Bitch's Brew. > >Michael > >-----Original Message----- >From: Eb [mailto:gondola@deltanet.com] >Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 3:16 PM >To: fegmaniax@smoe.org >Subject: Re: cherub rock > > >Jason: > >they disappeared up into The Loft never to be seen again. > >They probably left by the secret exit. You slide down a pole, plunge >face-first down a long winding tube and pop out in front of Tower Records, >up on Sunset Boulevard. I've tried this route a couple of times, but I'm >not sure I'd do it again because it chafes something awful. > > >I told Eddie something very similar Friday night. I just didn't really >see > >the muppet thing at all. If anything, Kimberly reminded me more of Dana > >Carvey's "Garth." > >I kept picturing Rew as one of the background characters in Paul >McCartney's "Coming Up" video. Don't ask me why. > >Michael: > >But, if you don't have Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," then you should > >just go out and get that. > >Probably my favorite jazz album. > >Eb > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 09:20:55 -0500 From: Ethyl Ketone Subject: RE: cherub rock At 11:28 AM +0000 11/24/99, matt sewell penned: >Kind Of Blue and Bitches Brew are excellent, haven't heard much else. While I think Bitches Brew is one of my faves, I fully admit to being one of those mid-70s types who fell in love with fusion at the tender age of 17 so of course Bitches Brew holds a special place. However, Sketches in Spain, In a Silent Way , Kind of Blue and Birth of the Cool are all excellent. So are some of the compilations - The Capitol/Blue Note Years and Ballads and Blues to name a few. These are the ones I currently have and know I'd even want more eventually. No one has mentioned John Coltrane - and if you are discovering jazz he is a must. Try the Africa/Brass Sessions or a "Best Of" cd. Of course there are plenty of others to mine. I'm a fan of Coleman Hawkins, McCoy Tyner, Duke Ellington, Joe Pass, Charlie Parker and even love Sidney Bichet and Glen Miller! Then there is that fusion thang and I have Weather Report, Return to Forever and others who I saw in concert during those fusion years (I admit this). And let me add into the soup a wonderful musician who recently passed away - Milt Jackson. And what jazz list is complete without Mingus? Be Seeing You, - - c ps: I went from the fusion stuff directly into the ECM stuff into ambient - it seemed an obvious progression... (Of course that didn't stop me from seeing bands like Germs and X and DK as well...hmmm..) "Questions are a burden for others. Answers are a prison for oneself." **************************************************************************** M.E.Ketone/C.Galbraith meketone@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 14:48:04 GMT From: "matt sewell" Subject: RE: cherub rock >No one has mentioned John Coltrane - and if you are discovering jazz he is >a must. Try the Africa/Brass Sessions or a "Best Of" cd. Of course there >are plenty of others to mine. I'm a fan of Coleman Hawkins, McCoy Tyner, >Duke Ellington, Joe Pass, Charlie Parker and even love Sidney Bichet and >Glen Miller! Then there is that fusion thang and I have Weather Report, >Return to Forever and others who I saw in concert during those fusion years >(I admit this). And let me add into the soup a wonderful musician who >recently passed away - Milt Jackson. > >And what jazz list is complete without Mingus? I quite agree, Mingus rocks, well, er...jazzes? Also, if we've touched on John C, how about Alice Coltrane? Journey in Sachadananda (sp?) Is one of my all-time favourites, Pharoah Saunders being a personal fave saxophonist. And what about Thelonius Monk, or Gerry Mulligan? This one could run and run... Cheers Matt ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 09:27:59 -0600 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V8 #438 >From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com >Subject: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY >IS TOMORROW! >the army of fungus-tenders. This gets my vote for Fegmaniax Phrase of the Year. Oh, and my favorite jazz album is Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch." The new Rudy Van Gelder remastered edition is superb, too. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 10:42:40 -0500 From: "Thomas, Ferris" Subject: An open letter of praise to Mr. Catron Bayard, Just wanted to say that Robynbase is pretty danged incredible. I've just poked and prodded it a bit and just thought to say "thanks." - -ferris "surprised to see 'Wolfpack' hadn't been played before Halloween" thomas np: a bunch of MP3s on shuffle. PS: B: is the FTP site still up? I've got a present(s) for you... "Kenny G walks into an elevator and says, 'Wow, this place rocks!'" - -Richard Thompson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 10:49:52 -0500 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: cherub rock My Coltrane suggestions would be in this order: 1. A Love Supreme 2. Blue Trane 3. Giant Steps 4. Village Vanguard box set I know the above is only touching a fraction of John Coltane's work, but those are my fav's and I have only a few others besides the above like Kula Se Mama and Impressions and Expressions that I have been exposed to. Michael - -----Original Message----- From: Ethyl Ketone [mailto:meketone@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 9:21 AM To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Subject: RE: cherub rock At 11:28 AM +0000 11/24/99, matt sewell penned: >Kind Of Blue and Bitches Brew are excellent, haven't heard much else. While I think Bitches Brew is one of my faves, I fully admit to being one of those mid-70s types who fell in love with fusion at the tender age of 17 so of course Bitches Brew holds a special place. However, Sketches in Spain, In a Silent Way , Kind of Blue and Birth of the Cool are all excellent. So are some of the compilations - The Capitol/Blue Note Years and Ballads and Blues to name a few. These are the ones I currently have and know I'd even want more eventually. No one has mentioned John Coltrane - and if you are discovering jazz he is a must. Try the Africa/Brass Sessions or a "Best Of" cd. Of course there are plenty of others to mine. I'm a fan of Coleman Hawkins, McCoy Tyner, Duke Ellington, Joe Pass, Charlie Parker and even love Sidney Bichet and Glen Miller! Then there is that fusion thang and I have Weather Report, Return to Forever and others who I saw in concert during those fusion years (I admit this). And let me add into the soup a wonderful musician who recently passed away - Milt Jackson. And what jazz list is complete without Mingus? Be Seeing You, - - c ps: I went from the fusion stuff directly into the ECM stuff into ambient - it seemed an obvious progression... (Of course that didn't stop me from seeing bands like Germs and X and DK as well...hmmm..) "Questions are a burden for others. Answers are a prison for oneself." **************************************************************************** M.E.Ketone/C.Galbraith meketone@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 09:14:30 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Bip Bop (dog & onion) On 11/23/99 9:20 PM, Russ Reynolds wrote: >By the way, there did appear to be an official videotographer (is that a >word?) chronicling the show. Has this guy been spotted in any other cities >on the tour? Maybe it was Jonathin Demme working on a sequel. Eddie will correct me, but I believe this was Ryan The Assistant Tour Manager Guy. Apparently they were video-ing every gig for a possible concert tape to be sold over the rh.com site. 'cuz you know it's so easy now to edit your own DV movies, what with FireWire and all. you're welcome, - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 11:36:06 -0800 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: Robyn in SF, nickname proliferation, FegSYDNEY'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! At 03:24 PM 11/23/99 -0800, Mark_Gloster@3com.com.2com.com.1com.com wrote: >Jason (I really look like I should have Nick's accent- okay, maybe >more of an eastender one and I know how to play stick and I know your >brother Vance but I know you know him too, Mark, so I guess that isn't >really something about which to brag) Thornton Heh heh. It was probably the fact that I was holding a Guiness in my hand that gave you that "eastender" impression. That may very well be the oddest comment on my physical appearance I've ever heard, brother. ;) Well, that and the comment made by a girl at the front counter of the hotel I stayed at in Sacramento last week saying that I looked like a famous actor stud whom I'm too embarrassed to even mention. HA! I fucking wish! She was obviously just being flirty, because that was the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. Yeah, when people tell you look like Jennifer Lopez, baby, it bet you just lap it up. No wait, a guy in a bar once told me that I looked like Donald Pleasance, and then started quoting lines from the "Halloween" movies. That was probably the strangest thing anyone's ever said to me on the subject. I'm not sure what about me struck you as being of the Brit, but I'm really of mixed heritage, including some nice helpings of Irish, German, Swedish, and, of course, British. I've never even been to the UK, unless Hong Kong before the handover counts. Once again, I must make it clear that I am not an agent in her majesty's secret service sent here to spy on you ignorant Americans. This California accent is 100% bloody real, wankers. >Hmmmmmmmm. Say, Sydney's bidet is tomorrow and she moves into a house >then too. Happy 22nd, Sydney! 'appy Birthday, Sydney! - --Sir Jason Thornton, God Save the Queen! PS: Knowing the Gloster brothers from two different email lists IS something about which to brag... "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 14:53:59 EST From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: cherub rock In a message dated 11/24/99 6:23:08 AM Pacific Standard Time, meketone@ix.netcom.com writes: << No one has mentioned John Coltrane - and if you are discovering jazz he is a must. Try the Africa/Brass Sessions or a "Best Of" cd. >> I can't believe I haven't mentioned Coltrane yet!! Oh, what an oversight. Hold on a sec while I go beat myself relentlessly . . . okay, I'm back. John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" runs pretty much neck-and-neck with "Kind of Blue" for my all-time favorite jazz album. And, yes, "Africa/Brass" is fantastic. Try to pick up a used copy of the first CD issue Impulse put out (late 80's or early 90's?) -- it's only one CD. The current version is on two CDs, whihc may seem cool, but it's mostly just to facilitate far too many versions of "Africa." The 4-CD "Live at the Village Vanguard in 1961" is totally incredible -- Eric Dolphy guests on some numbers. "Blue Train" (in Blue Note) is fantastic, as is "Giant Steps." His post-1964 material is a bit much for me, most of the time. Very outside and often bombastic. << And what jazz list is complete without Mingus? >> Now I'm gonna have to go and beat myself again. Oh the shame! "Mingus Dynasty" and "Blues & Roots" and "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" are all incredible albums, with the first and third being wonderful examples of great big band music from the late 50's and 60's. Okay, we've now covered my holy trinity of Coltrane, Mingus, and Miles. I can stop now, I think :-) - ------Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 15:30:36 -0500 From: "randi..aka..twofangs" Subject: here's a fun explanation for you ... Grrr. Argh. You are not even going to believe this ... - - I don't - perhaps it will best be understood as a "Randi Story." ****************************************** Once upon a time, there was a girl named Randi stuck in the hospital. She had one of those irritating little chronic illnesses known as Crohn's Disease. She was in lots of pain, lost blood on a 24/7 basis, did major vomiting and was always running to the bathroom to - - shall we say - alleviate her intestines of their burden. Now Randi was lucky, in that she was known as 'a little trooper' so she faced this illness with her best face put forward. Randi has had many, many, surgeries ... faced many, many, many, hospital stays ... has had any imaginable test / procedure you can think of / and lots you can't - done to her. It was with surprising shock when Randi found out she was close to surgery again. Randi was sad, tired, angry, but she put her best face forward always. After twenty-one years of Crohn's - a thirty-two year old woman knows the drill, and must cope. It should be said of Randi that she is not a patient person, so waiting & waiting for a glimpse of an answer to appear frustrates her to no end. She does believe that patience is one of the many lessons she must learn in this lifetime. So, finally, on Monday, November 22, 1999 at 11:30 am, Randi was prepared to hear the surgeon's answer. She travelled to downtown Toronto on that day - to find / choose her fate. Randi waltzed in to the doctor's office, and to her dismay, found out the surgeon was sick - one of the docs-in-training would look at her x-rays. When Randi gets angry, her voice gets very soft and quiet, almost gentle, and those who know her might check her eyes, they turn completely black when she's angry {neat trick huh!} and her nostrils slightly flare. Randi wanted to leave immediately, but she decided she'd may as well give the x-rays to whomever was there - to get the ball rolling in someway. So Randi waited ... and waited ... and waited ... two and a half hours before she got to see this doctor-wannabe. He took one look at her x-rays and said ... "Oh, I can't help you - I've never seen anything like this before." At that point, he was ready for Randi to leave. He wanted her to make another appointment with the 'real surgeon' in January 2000. If it was indeed possible, Randi's nostrils flared even more. Randi 'talked the talk' - as her friend Tim noted - the doc was intimidated - Tim says the doc's eyes bulged out of his head - and in the end, the doc was helpless to Randi's demands. "How do you expect me to wait until the end of January to see Zane Cohen {the surgeon}?" said Randi. "How dare you invalidate me and my obvious problems in my presence. This is what will happen - you will pick up the phone NOW and call Zane at home and talk to him in front of me." The wannabe immediately said "no." The Randi immediately said "oh I think so" The wannabe didn't know Randi very well, so he argued with her. Skill testing question: should the doctor have listened to a patient as well-versed in 'Crohn's Speak' as Randi and deny her request? Well, the answer to 'that' is about as easy as they come. Randi got up, walked around the desk, to where the doc was sitting and said "You call Zane {surgeon} or Lawrence {G.I} right now - while I'm here." Randi's voice was a smooth as thick hot chocolate on a winter's day, as silky as velvet, and as demanding as leather. Neat trick huh? So - phone calls were made - Randi got an appointment to come back December 13th, which sure as heck beats out the last week of January of the year 2000 - and the wannabe doc skulked off. Randi is still upset, but grateful to have all those 'feg' good vibes that gave her the strength to stand up for herself and not cry ... She was understandably upset, but didn't collapse, didn't freak out; she just estimated the wannabe's position and strength - and sunk his 'battleship'. So Randi will have no more news until December 13th, however, she will have easier access to a computer, so email is most gratefully read and appreciated. ****************************************** As Marcy would say - I've got more time left in the spa - but I feel much stronger now - I'm in a 'get outta my face unless you bring good news' mood with the docs, and in a 'beggin' for email' mood with my feg friends. And so it goes .... fading back into yesterday before tomorrow comes, Randi :-} ps - scariest of mary's - my room is a virtual Halloween haunt - thanks - I'll write you a note as soon as I can. Happy American Thanksgiving! {to those of you who celebrate it} and remember, I may be silent sometimes, but I think of all of you every day, and draw strength from the cosmic convergence of our collective unconscious ... really! ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #439 *******************************