morning after the biggest infusion of love i've ever had. seth perry and ivan decker threw a little fundraiser for me at the jupitor room last night. bunch of people showed up, probably a hundred. cash headed my way. but way more beneficial was the love and support and fun that was had. i pretty much worked all week to get there, and had a last minute visit to the hospital just to keep things interesting. but i got down there, did a little speech (secured a couple new bits) and let my very able colleagues do the show. i saw so many people that i hadn't seen in awhile (not surprising since i have been out much!!) and every person i wanted to spend day with, but my body was a sack of shit, so I couldn't give much back.
a watershed night in Vancouver to be sure. comedians being nice to each other. it's the new black. if any one comic has raised more hackles over the years - it's been me. to have me as the poster boy of a larger movement, really drove home the point. if your a member of this community of comedians, we will - together and individually - take care of you, regardless if you've pissed us off. and that is a great big giant step in growing up to being a major comedy town. it was like they said, "Hey Cancer, Richard's with us. You have picked on the wrong comedian mister!"
I am proud of all of them, and proud to call them my colleagues and friends. As you know dear reader, I had been so disillusioned by "the scene" that I had virtually dropped out locally, preferring to drive female escorts because they had more moral character! Last night, I was proven wrong in the grandest of fashion. These are good, loving and funny people. Shame on me for painting them with one stroke. They're are those that still hurt more than help, but now i see the burden of hurt they carry themselves. They have chosen to bear it alone, and punish us for it, but as my dad would say, "it's the unlovable that need love the most".(present company included)
Last night there were people from comedy, from church, from the poetry scene, from theatre and from the hood. All for me. It still gives me chills. (Non-chemo type) More importantly a precedent was established of how we treat and look out for each other, not as comedians, or poets, or Presbyterians, but as people. Today I am proud to be a human.
Thursday afternoon I find out how the treatment went. Options for me as of Thursday are...(drum roll)
Door Number One - Lymph Nodes under a centimeter.We got it. Go home and repair.
Door Number Two - Lymph Nodes still too big. Radiation.
Door Number Three - " " " " " . Surgery
Door Number Four - " " " " " . More Chemo
So I think it's pretty clear which door we're going for here.(ONE - asshole!)
Stay tuned.
One final note. To my friend and loyal reader Sara. You kept your promise. You promised me a toque, hand knit just for me. That was four months ago. You beat yourself up for promising to come over and take care of me, and then being so scared to see me you couldn't do it. what you don't know, is that i didn't know if people would help me, and i asked you and you said yes, and that gave me the confidence to ask others, and since then i have had the best care anyone could hope for. to quote "Mulan" (yes the disney cartoon) "a grain of rice can turn the tide".
The toque is, of course, perfect. You, on the other hand, are TOO FAT. xo RL
