THE MEDICAL TOUR - Chicago and home

Chicago Wednesday 2 April 1997 warm and sunny

We were up bright and early this morning although we both had stiff necks from the pillows and poor old Rab had a bit of bursitis in one leg, presumably from sitting in what is not the most comfortable of cars for so long.

But after we had hobbled into Denny's for an excellent US breakfast, we felt much better. It really is good value there and excellent tucker. The drive across the Illinois prairies was pretty boring and Rab soon dropped off to sleep. There was a surprising lack of talk back radio and although there was a fair bit of country music there is a limit to how much of that you can listen to!

We crossed and joined Route 66  a couple more times and there were some pretty farm houses but that was about it. We made good time and got here just before 1.00 pm. Thanks to an excellent map we picked up from the AAA we found the hotel with no trouble. It is a pleasant enough spot - no great shakes, but comfortable and seems to be in an interesting part of town.

We decided to go for a spin this afternoon along the Shore Boulevard, which is just a couple of blocks down the road. The entire lake shore for many miles each side of the city has been reserved for the free use of citizens. There are lovely parks and beaches with walking and cycling paths and there were a few people out today because it was so warm. We al,so drove through town and it looks a very handsome place. Good looking buildings and very clean.

We made our way down to the Navy Pier, which was originally a pleasure pier at the turn of the century but then became a freight terminal and naval training base. With the decline in sea and rail freight it has now reverted to its original use. There is a huge ferris wheel (+- 150 feet) which we rode on and we also took a boat ride out on the lake. It gave us a good. View of the city skyline, which is very striking. It got quite chilly while we were out there in the breeze but it was mild back on the shore. We grabbed a bite to eat down there and sat at one of the outdoor tables watching the sun set - and what a sight that was too - magnificent colors and cloud formations.

We had planned on driving up the shore to see the city lights but the traffic was much heavier than we had expected it to be, so we just headed back to the hotel. A pretty good day, all in all. Tomorrow weather permitting we want to go up the Sears Tower and have a look around the town.

Chicago Thursday 3 April 1997 – Sunny and chilly

 We were awake quite early and had a pleasant breakfast here in the hotel – continental of course, which in this case meant cornflakes, bagels and doughnuts with fruit juice and coffee. We caught a bus into the city and walked quite a way on a sunny but chilly day, popping into the odd shop and admiring the buildings. The pavements (or sidewalks in USspeak) were wide, the city is clean and we remarked how much nicer it was as a city than New York or San Francisco.

We stopped off for lunch at a downtown diner where I had a very good liver and bacon, before pushing on to the Sears Tower, the second highest building in the world – and still the one with the highest  viewing platform. Unfortunately the weather was not quite as good as yesterday and visibility was down to about five miles but it was still pretty spectacular. After the Sears Tower, we caught a bus back to the hotel and after a bit of a rest we had an excellent meal at a local Italian Restaurant – Cuccina Bella – which seemed to have a good reputation in Chicago. All in all, a pretty good day in a lovely city.

Half an hour out of Heathrow – Tuesday 8 April 1997

Not much of a great note to complete the trip.

The last day (Friday last week) in Chicago we just spent packing and reading/watching TV until noon when we had to check out. We went for a short drive along the Foreshore Drive for one last look at Chicago and a bite to eat at a sandwich shop. We met up with a couple and their miniature schnauzer which got Rab a bit dewy eyed thinking of her boy at home. Then we were off to the airport,  fortunately with plenty of time to spare because, firstly there was an enormous jam on the freeway and, secondly, the car hire company Alamo had premises miles away from the airport which was very poorly signposted. But all ended up OK and the flight was uneventful, apart from the appalling cabin service which saw the hostie getting only one out of three for my choice of food.

 Later: I am now writing this some 2 ½ hours after I started. I have had three good slugs of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, a couple of  glasses of good red Cape wine and a nice meal and have watching a couple of hours of amusing videos. I am waiting for another selection of comedies to start, so I may as well end this now, in case I do not get another chance by saying it was, as ever, a great trip and I hope it won’t be the last.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS

Tuesday April 1, 1997 Springfield Illinois – still sunny and warm

We got off fairly early this morning after another continental breakfast which was included in the room rate. That consisted of cereal and toast (we had a couple of jars of Vegemite with us) plus juice, coffee and doughnuts. It made a bit of a change from the American breakfasts which we have, as ever, enjoyed but which we need a break from.

Rab wanted to get some material from a Wal-Mart. She had seen it miles and days ago; couldn’t make up her mind; decided too late that it would have been a good idea; couldn’t find it again. (This scenario has been repeated many times over the years – ‘Buy it now’” I say. But when is a husband’s advice accepted?) Anyhow, we finally found  some in a Wal-Mart somewhere along the road, so that made her happy – and increased the distance between stops.

Today’s trip went well, although we stuck to the main Interstate Highway so we didn’t see as much of the countryside as we had on previous days. We were still in hilly, wooded area during the morning but the land flattened out as the day went by. We got to St Louis at about 2.30 pm and decided not to stop there. We had planned to take a break at the famous arch, but the signage wasn’t too good and before we knew where we were, we had crossed the Mississippi again and were in Illinois.

We had a very good view of the Arch, which is certainly impressive. Illinois is very flat prairie land and is not as interesting a the Ozarks, so keeping to the Interstate was the way to go as we could keep up a good average speed. We actually drove for part of the way on the old Route 66, which was a bit of a kick!

Actually it is quite weird how many bits of history, Americana etc pop us as we travel. On the first day out of Houston we came across the Bonny & Clyde Museum (closed). We asked the local Sheriff, who was parked nearby, if this was Bonny and Clyde country. “Sure,” he said and went on to explain they had been shot in a little town about 8 miles away, where there was a plaque recording the event. We tried to find the place but couldn’t – part of our problem being that we had some difficulty in following what the law man was saying. At Hot Springs we found that, not only had Jesse James and his gang operated in the area, but Bill Clinton had been brought up there! And so it goes. Weird stuff a lot of it. Abe Lincoln’s homestead  was not far from where we are tonight.

And talking of where we are tonight, we are staying at a Holiday Inn, mainly because we couldn’t find the Quality Inn we were aiming for, This is a sort of Resort Hotel with an enormous “Holidome” in its centre where people of all ages (but mainly kids) were frolicking around – playing shuffleboard, ping pong, miniature golf and swimming. All this in an area surrounded by rooms and a mezzanine floor for observation. It seemed really odd to us to see all these people in their swimming costumes when we went to dinner – a sort of surrealist scene. I guess it must be great for them in winter.

And talking of winter, the weather took a turn for the worse in a number of areas. In the North East last night it snowed heavily. Boston got about two foot and the airport was closed. But parts of New York State got nearly three foot. Earlier in the week seven tornadoes touched down in Tennessee just a State away from us in the West. We have, by chance steered a course between high and low pressure zones and it has been sunny all the way. There was a cold wind on Saturday as we drove through the mountains but we only felt that when we got out of the car. The forecast is fine for the next few days, so the cold weather clothes we brought probably will not be used after all.

 I managed to get through to Matt by phone tonight. Poor bloke has been very concerned about me, despite (or perhaps because of) my fax from Houston. This was compounded by a dream Dani had which had me changing into an elephant surrounded by white birds – apparently a sign of death. I hope I was able to put his mind to rest.

MEDICAL TOUR - BRANSON DAY #2

Monday March 31, 1997 - Still in Branson

It was nice to have a rest day and just take our time to have a look around. I did a bit of office work in the morning and then we went downtown to have a look around. There was  a fascinated store in the main street in the Old Town – Dick’s Oldtime 5 & 10.

 

What a shop! We could have spent days there, especially if we had room in our luggage. It really had everything from a needle to and anchor – and everything else in between. We saw goods we hadn’t seen for years including some great Keil Kraft balsa wood aeroplanes, which brought back some happy memories.

We went for a drive today, along the road we had taken the night before and that highlighted the effect of all the development. We were standing high above the river and on the one bank it was virtually virgin bush – a high bluff and forests with the redbuds just blooming: on the other bank, all the bush had been stripped – hotels, condominiums, and golf courses had been spread out in all their ghastliness. The poor old Shepherd must be spinning in his grave.

We had a bite to eat in one of the old time diners which was good tucker and very reasonable. Watching the locals eat was also interesting – although I suppose our style was as curious to them as theirs was to us! In the evening we ate out at an Italian restaurant and had a nice bottle of Lambrusco. The sunset was terrific with an incredible shade of pink, the likes of which I cannot recall seeing before, which then changed and ended up as green. The food was excellent although mine was a little on the hot side – I had asked them to spice my Penne Fra Diavolo with a bit of chilli and they took my request literally.

We then went on to the theatre to Rab;s second choice entitled Jukebox Jamboree which was a bit disappointing, especially compared to the show the previous evening. The concept was a good one – tracing the history of the jukebox through the hit songs through the years, but it didn’t come off too well. costumes and cast didn’t fit each other and at least two seem to have had a good break which resulted in their putting on a bit of weight!

THE MEDICAL TOUR - BRANSON, MISSOURI

Sunday March 30, 1997 – Branson Missouri – Sunny but cold

The bed was surprisingly comfortable but we had to sleep with the windows wide open as it was so warm. It was pretty noisy at first but the traffic soon died down. I was woken in the morning by a thunderstorm complete with lightning (but very little rain) but dozed off again without too much trouble. We both woke up  early in the light of the paucity of curtaining – there wasn’t any, just venetian blinds which are hardly lightproof. 

It was a nice, chilly morning so I decided to take a walk up the hill adjacent to the hotel, which had laid out hiking tracks all over it. It was really good getting some exercise after two weeks plus of none and the scenery was lovely. I saw a rabbit and a couple of blue jays, which are startlingly bright in colour, plus the odd squirrel. The West side of the hill is where the hot springs are and one had been left uncapped; the rest are drained off to the bathhouses in town. It was steaming in the cold morning air. I walked for about half an hour and got to the top of the hill. It was good to get a sweat up, I must say.

We have been very luck with the weather, apart from a thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning. Several cold fronts have come and gone, with snow up North near Chicago, tornadoes in the West in Kansas, strong winds in Florida, floods in Ohio. And in the midst of all this, I have been in my shorts with the temperatures in the 80Fs - +/- 25/27C.

We had thought of spending two days in Hot Springs, but our experience in the hotel put us off the idea – and Rab does not entirely share my views on the joys of the countryside, unless she is being driven fairly rapidly through it.

So we packed and got going fairly early, pausing only for breakfast before we went on our way. Rab had spotted a Waffle House on the way into town so we head for that. It was Easter Sunday and clearly the Waffle House must have been a very popular spot because there was a long line of people waiting to get in. we weren’t prepared to wait, so settled for a very second rate meal at Wendy’s.

But the poor start to the day was soon left behind us as we travelled through the beautiful mountains and  forest of the Ozarks. On our way out of town we spotted the plaque commemorating Bill Clinton’s birth place but didn’t stop.

The woods were very green as we started into the Ozarks - all the varieties of color  which made the scenery so interesting. We also saw lots of redbuds that were just coming in to bloom. As we headed North and higher, the trees gradually lost their leaves and there were fewer with blossom, but it was still pretty country. It must be great in later Spring or Summer and I guess Autumn would be rather spectacular too. All in all probably th best day’s driving from a scenic point of view, although we were both distressed by the sight of a half tarved coon dog trying to run along the road miles from anywhere. We both felt so helpless and that we should do something – but what could we do?

Our road led us ultimately to Branson – an interesting place, but probably hell in summer. It was originally a sleepy little dorp in the Ozarks which gained popularity after firstly the book Shepherd Of The Hills which was set in and around Branson became popular followed by the musical and the film. I still recall my mother singing songs from the show. An annual festival was established in the town which was well attended. That led to a couple of theatres being opened by the Presley family (no relation) and then more and more followed. Added to which a large dam was constructed up river and the people working on the site needed accommodation and food. Today the town is an immense sprawling mass of hotels, theatres, shops and restaurants. Even now, when it is pretty low season there were ten or twelve shows to choose from. In the height of the season there are literally dozens.

I started writing my catch-up (I had got a couple of days behind with my entries) because I thought we had a fair bit of time but of course Rab had the TV on and despite myself I got sucked in, especially as far as the discussions concerning the mass suicides of 39 people belonging to a cult called Heavensgate.

Then we went out to eat, since we had very little lunch. I had picked out a BarBQ diner where we had the most magnificent pork ribs. I chose the smallest serving, based on previous experience of US cuisine and barely managed it all. Rab went for one size up and couldn’t manage it all. We had a terrific salad to start and they also gave us what they call biscuits but what we would call scones. Apparently, from our  surreptitious survey of later diners, you are meant to eat these with the jelly/jam provided as you eat your saad or soup!! We had a couple of Mooseheads to wash it all down and enjoyed it all. Nice people too.

From there we went back to the hotel and then headed out to see a show – Country Tonite. It was not Rab’s first choice – she wanted to see a show with Elvis and other impersonators. But when we went downtown to get tickets we realised that the audience would only be 20 or so others and Rab didn’t like the look of the ticket salesman either. It was a good call too, we reckoned, because the Country Tonite show was excellent and we both enjoyed it. Loud, noisy and colourful and just good fu for everybody. Of course, as ever in the US there was an emotional finale with Ole Glory in all its glory which was given a standing ovation. We got lost on the way to the theatre – I took what I thought was a short cut but it turned out to be completely wrong and we almost missed the show.

Since the hotel was reasonably priced and comfortable, and as we had a day in hand we decided to stay in Branson for another day.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - HOT SPRINGS, MISSOURI

Saturday March 29, 1997 – Hot Springs, Missouri

I had a bit of a disturbed night as the catfish wrestled with the pecan nuts but then went back to sleep and slept like a log until very late - about 8.45! So we had a late start and missed out on the promised "continental breakfast" of weak coffee and doughnuts. Rab had been taken by an advert for Slaneys who allegedly specialized in breakfast, so we went along to the local branch. We decided to have the breakfast bar selection, which was good with an excellent choice including grits. So we has a great meal which went down well, especially since the catfish had moved on.

Our plan was to drive up the Mississippi Valley and we found a secondary road which we thought could give us good views of the river. Well, that was a disappointment. We didn't get a glimpse of the water until we crossed one of the tributaries, although that was quite a sight with a couple of houses up to their eaves in floodwater. Apart from that the drive was very boring - flat land with the residue of cotton stalks and nothing else except abandoned shacks, pitiful looking houses surrounded by junk and in every little dorp a pawn shop and flea market with the biggest selection of old rusty junk imaginable.

It certainly gave the impression of a very poor part of the world. We also saw a number of armadillos which had been run over, but that was about it. We finally stopped for lunch at a mall in a little place called Pine Bluff. Nothing special about the tucker but the walk about did us a bit of good. We had crossed the Mississippi into Missouri shortly before we got to Pine Bluff and after we left the town we headed up towards the Ozarks.

The road headed through more hilly, wooded country and we started seeing dogwoods and azaleas plus other blooming trees, including one which was very pretty with blossom all along the bare branches. In the early stages looked to me as if they were the same color as jacarandas, the later ones were quite pink. Locals told us they were called redbuds and that they were just coming in to bloom.

We turned off the Interstate into the Hot Springs National Park and decided to spend the night in the town of Hot Springs. Rab picked out a hotel that sounded pretty good from the AAA book, which gave it three diamonds - a pretty good rating which we had found satisfactory until then.  I suppose the mistake we made was in ignoring the fact that it was described as an "historic" hotel. One of the travel writers we read warned against staying in any establishment with this description - and he was right.

The first room we were checked into was very small and had no cold water or a plug in the hand basin. There was no air-conditioning either but there was an overhead fan with only two speeds - flat out on a wonky spindle which made the whole fitting rattle like a Dakota warming up or stopped. We also discovered that the bedrooms had no phones - in this day and age - and in America!!

We toyed with the idea of moving out but had had a long day and decided that moving rooms would be enough of a schlep. So I rattled down to the foyer in the old lift and spoke to the manager – seemingly a Greek gentleman who had not been in the USA for very long. He offered us the ‘more superior’ room next door to the room we were in at the same rate and handed over the key. We went to the room to check it out and found that there was hot and cold water and a plug, that the fan turned at a more reasonable speed – but that there wereno less than five light bulbs missing or dead! We still had the key from the first room so I nipped in there and nicked all but one of the light bulbs from there.

It was quite a warm evening so we strolled downtown to look for a bite to eat (Rab didn’t fancy eating in the hotel because we had encountered a woman in the lift who seemed to be part of the establishment and she had plasters on three fingers and one thumb – and dirty plasters at that!). the town has been a resort for many years and was hugely popular in the 20s when it had its heyday. It seems that a lot of people from that era might still be around because by 8.30 there was not much movement and most of the eateries had closed.  We found of all things a Chinese restaurant, staffed by a couple who spoke very little English and which had a somewhat limited menu. But the food was very tasty and met our needs. I needed something fairly light after the catfish, the big breakfast and all the snacks we had been munching all day.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - VICKSBURG MISSISSIPPI

Friday March 28, 1997 – Vicksburg - Mississippi

The drive from Shreveport to Vicksburg started off much later that we had intended – although we heard a few trams coming through we slept until late and then had to stop for petrol and breakfast. The meal was at a diner attached to the gas station and was OK but no great shakes and a bit pricey. The waitron and most of the patrons were huge! We shifted off the Interstate as soon as we could and got onto a secondary road. At first the countryside was very pretty with plenty of green pastures, trees and wisteria but it started getting flatter and les interesting as the day wore on.

There was a lot of water around – on both sides of the road and at times it seemed that it was only because the roadway was raised which kept it from flooding. It was something to cross the wide old Mississippi which was in full spate - it had peaked the day before at the highest level for about thirty years. 

The reason that we went to Vicksburg was that it was said to have the greatest collection of ante-bellum houses in the South and we thought they might be worth seeing. Well, maybe they are but they don't look much from the outside, they are all bed and breakfast establishments (which made us wonder how they could show people around at $5 a head?) and a number were closed. Some were in pretty ropey parts of the town too.

But we were pretty peckish, having missed out on lunch, so on our way back from th last of the mansions, which was, as it turned out, rebuilt in the 1940s and remodeled to look like Tara from Gone With The Wind - some ante-bellum mansion! - we stopped off at a very good restaurant which Rab had picked out from our Frommers.  It was on a bluff above the river, overlooking the bridge and had a very good atmosphere. The choice of food was excellent to. And it as hard to make a choice between all the Suthern specialities. My choice was perhaps not the wisest - catfish in a pecan nut finish, which turned out to be very rich indeed. But it was good tucker all the same. We saw the first of our Western sunsets here - spectacular.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - ONWARDS TO SHREVEPORT

Thursday March 27, 1997 – Shreveport, Louisiana – Warm and overcast

We drove up here from Houston. Starting off on a really ropey freeway, which was being worked on, we branched off onto a secondary road discovered by Rab which turned out to be a lovely one. We drove through lovely green, wooded country so unlike anything we had expected. Not that we thought Texas was all desert, but we thought it would be pretty dry and dusty. On the contrary, parts were almost like an English country scene with small copses of trees in green pastures and fat cattle grazing on lush grass dotted with Spring flowers. And everywhere was wisteria in all it’s colours from deep purple to white: climbing trees and cascading down; wound into bushy shrubs; along the fences. Simply tremendous!

Lots of azaleas too and, when we got to the thick woods, dogwoods shone through showing off their early blooms. Some prunus and pears/apples were in blossom too. And there are so many colours of green in the trees. It certainly is a lovely time of the year to drive through the countryside.

It was very good to get on our way after a bit of an emotional week, for Rab especially. The examinations which G arranged were exhaustive (and fairly exhausting) and I must say it will be very pleasant not to have the prospect of another DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) for the next couple of months!

G and J were so very good to us. It really underlines the essential goodness of people. They didn’t really know us, apart from two meetings twenty years apart. Yet they offered their house to us – and what a magnificent house – and made all arrangements from getting a cabbie to meet us at the airport to getting all but one of the specialists to waive their fee. They say it is because people were so kind to them when their younger daughter was killed in a motor accident two or three years ago, but I think they are naturally generous people.

Anyway, here we are in Shreveport at the Holiday Inn which we finally found after circling the building through a series of one way streets. At $59.40 for the room it seems reasonable to us. We had a very nice meal – blackened catfish fillet and a shrimp etoufee – which we shared. Rab has found a TV channel to watch amongst the fifty or so – a ghastly true story about a mob killer who worked for twenty five years as a hit man. Such is fame in the US of A – and just what she likes.

An so to bed, hopefully to sleep well now that our position has been resolved as far as possible for the moment. No doubt we will be talking and discussing our options for months.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - HOUSTON WE HAVE SOME PROBLEMS

Tuesday March 24, 1997 – Houston

Anyway I had the next series of scans this morning – as usual it was said it would only take ten minutes and as usual it took much longer – about an hour. J dropped us off afterwards at the Galleria shopping centre where Rab bought another pair of shoes! and where we had some excellent Mexican food for lunch.

From there we started the medical meetings. First one was Hank Zalensky, medical oncologist.  What a  character! He is a diver in the Naval Reserve and talks the hind leg off a donkey. Told me he could judge a person’s age by whether they had a VISCULA or not. That is a Visible Scar Upper Left Arm – where we were vaccinated as kids. He finally got around to doing a full medical examination, including yet another DRE! He was non-committal, although he said the prostate was mobile and he could not feel anything specific apart from the obvious swelling in the right hemisphere.

He arranged for me to meet a radiation therapist in addition to the urologist who G had set up. Brian Butler the radiologist was very pleasant (as they all were) and set out clearly the options and his recommendation – to have a radical prostatectomy! Again, though, when he examined me, he could not feel anything specific, which would have changed my staging from T2b to T1c.

And so on to the finale this morning with Seth Lerner the urologist. He kept us waiting for over an hour and a half but was happy to spend as long as we wanted to discuss what we wanted to know. He made no bones about the fact that an operation was what I needed – and the sooner the better. He could not understand why I had waited so long. He said that he could fit me into his schedule next week and urged me to consider that option, saying that the MRI scan showed the tumour as clearly a a streetlight on a dark night. Rab asked him to mark the relevant scan so we could see this phenomenon. It was not obvious to us (or indeed to the oncologist in Cape Town when we got home). He quoted a fee of $20,000 - way beyond our resources.

I still do not think that I will have the operation. The bye-products I think are too potentially severe compared with the other options. I still think I have some time to do more research, to consider all the options and to look more fully at the alternatives.

Brian Butler said he had never heard of any spontaneous regression of a prostate cancer, when I raised the subject with him. He did agree though that there were many instances of spontaneous regression in other cancers. He had to laugh when I suggested that the surgeons did not give an early stage PCA the chance of regressing before they whipped them out!

Wednesday March 25, 1997 – Houston

I didn’t write up my diary for this day, I guess because we were in a bit of a dwaal after having the bad news confirmed so unanimously. I know we spent a long time the night before and in the morning talking about options and potential outcomes - after a long  chat with J and G we took ourselves off for a little sightseeing in Houston. 

Incidentally was Matt’s birthday. We sent him a fax with my latest news - Happy Birthday, Matt!

The main target of our (or mor accurately, my) sightseeing was the NASA (National Air and Space Academy) Museum with all the exhibits of the space shots to date. We had seen the first Challenger flight taking off from what was Cape Kennedy (now reverted to Cape Canaveral) when we were on a previous visit and it was quite an experience to see the capsules and all the other exhibits.

Some deep thinkers may see some Freudian connection between the viewing of rockets and the likely outcome of any prostate surgery??????:-)

THE MEDICAL TOUR - SCANS IN HOUSTON

Monday March 23, 1997 – Houston

We started off quite early – I didn’t sleep too well, wondering how the tests would go and was awake from about 4.00 am. The trip out to the airport was quicker than we thought it would be, so we had plenty of time out there before boarding our plane.

There were surprisingly few food outlets and so we thought we would have breakfast on the plan as the tucker had been quite good on the flight down from Pittsburgh. But for the first time I can ever recall, we were not offered food!! On an aircraft! In First Class!!! Not even a biscuit (or a cookie in US English)! Just orange juice – not even iced tea. June told us tht Continental, who we hadn’t used before, have cut out food service by and large.

So we were a bit peckish by the time we got to the our host's house at about midday New Orleans time. Their Mexican housekeeper, Laura, was there and gave us a couple of slices of toast to keep the wolf from the door. The area they live in is the very best in Houston and contains some incredible houses. The  house is huge – six bedrooms and eight bathrooms plus several public rooms and a gym set up for two above the garage housing their cars. But it is dwarfed by some of the mansions in the area. J says many of these gracious palaces are occupied by just two people. And of course the cars in the area reflect the wealth of the inhabitants. J and G have a pair of matching Mercedes 300 L coupes plus a Jeep Explorer as a runabout – they got rid of the Porsche some time back!

The furnishings of the house were not really to my taste – too much cluttered antique, but having said that it is a magnificent place and looks tremendous in a Harpers/Queen/Gracious Homes way. We are very comfortable and are getting on well with J & G.

But as we talk I can see what Matt said about us in Australia. G works, works out for two hours in his gym and sleeps (and counts his money of which there is a large mountain!). J meets him for lunch, waits for him to come home, works on the accounts and the trust funds, buys more an more beautiful things and travels (on her own with groups of strangers because G doesn’t really enjoy travelling.) Whilst that doesn't reflect our situation precisely, the focus on work was certainly an issue for me.

They both admit to being lonely and alienated in America and are looking forward to G’s early retirement (at some unspecified future time) when they plan to split their time between Cape Town and London. We had to wonder why they are bothering to wait. They are clearly very wealthy already with two properties in London, one in Cape Town and one in Houston plus trust accounts in all the exotic places, exquisite and valuable jewellery and furniture etc. what more could anyone want? I suppose it comes down to the simple fact that everybody feels they always need a little more.

We met G for lunch and were amused to note that although he will not eat any fat and only had a salad, he was the only one in the party to have desert – a very rich looking chocolate mousse with meringue. He didn’t waste and time and had organised the first of the MRI scans soon after lunch.  Although he had said in Cape Town that his equipment was superior to and more comfortable than the machinery on which I had my first scans in Cape Town. They seemed even more noisy and certainly took as long. 

Of course I do not fit into machines very well and cannot get my arms into the body cavity, so I had to lie with my arms above my head for about an hour and a half. It is amazing how painful that can be. Of course you cannot move your body during this period so all in all it is not the most pleasurable experience at the best of times. To make matters worse, G decided to get a better picture by using a magnetic coil inserted close to the prostate. Not something I would recommend – and I gather it did not produce anything spectacular either.

When we spoke to the G in the evening, he said that there was no doubt that there was “something” in the prostate but he thought it was contained within the capsule. He said he was certain it was cancer and, as I understood it, that the tumour was probably less than one centimetre. What he didn’t mention was that he wanted me to have another MRI run the following morning, for reasons he never specified precisely. Poor old Rab was a bit upset and didn’t sleep too well – I think she was hoping until then that it had all been a ghastly mistake.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - NEW ORLEANS DAY 2

Sunday 23 March 1997 – New Orleans: Fine & Sunny

Well the suitcase finally turned up at 10.00 pm last night, unscathed as far as we could see and I could go to sleep. We had been dozing off while we were waiting and boy! did we sleep! Obviously making up for our sleep deficit we, or I, didn’t wake up until 9 and Rab slept on until after 10. unheard of for the past 25 years or so – my usual waking time is about 5.30.

Even once we were both awake we took things easy, so it was after twelve when we finally got going. I had hoped to go on a Swamp Cruise, which was not high on Rab’s priorities. To be fair, she did call the concierge to see what was available and there was one which would have picked us up between 1 and 1.30. the thought of going on an excursion that Rab was not keen on and missing the planned breakfast at Mother’s was not one I cared to contemplate, so we decided to give it a miss. As things turned out, we gave our planned breakfast a miss too. The line at Mother’s was a long one (Rab says over one hundred people although I think that may be an exaggeration) and we were not keen on waiting, so we pressed on, confident we would find a suitable opportunity.

Some chance. Most establishments stopped serving breakfast at 11 or 12 and it was after 12.30 when we started our quest. Of course there were plenty of places serving food, but Rab again had the bit between her teeth and was determined to find breakfast somewhere. At about 1.15 I revolted. Hot, tired, hungry and thirsty I demanded that we find somewhere. And we did, Rab salvaged her pride by choosing waffles with maple syrup and I had a Beef Poboy -  small French loaf filled with beef and gravy. That and a nice cold orange juice made me feel a bit more human again and prepared me for the next leg of Rab’ travel saga.

That involved us seeking out the St Charles Street Tram aka A Streetcar Named Desire. Her intention was to travel the line through the Garden District and, funnily enough, this idea was shared by many hundreds of other visitors to New Orleans. We finally got to the nearest stop to our hotel (after dropping off our morning’s shopping there) and found a horde of people ahead of us. They were lining up, somewhat untidily, to board but it was clear that we would not all fit on the vehicle. So we got smart and headed back up the line so we could catch the next tram ahead of the rush. Wrong! The next tram was so full it didn’t even pause for us. Back we trudged with our tails between our legs.

We finally pushed our way aboard but there were no seats available so we had to stand at first. Rab finally got a seat but I spent most of the outward journey standing, which was really boring as I could only see the pavement (sidewalk I guess since this was America) and the fences of the glorious houses we were passing. Finally enough people got off to give me a chance to rest my legs and feet and enjoy the view. There are some terrific places out there, most of them two or three storeys high and in very good condition, although some were in dire need of attention.

Cross stitch of Cathedral

Coming back was more comfortable and we enjoyed our afternoon. We made it back to town at about 6.30, just in time to see the JF Kennedy Marching Band lead off another sheepish bunch of convention-ing Americans down Church Street. How embarrassing! Having finally tracked down the Gumbo Kitchen during our morning search for breakfast,, we headed back there for our evening meal, to join yet another line. Now I don’t lke queuing for food and I didn’t want to tonight, but Rab and the bloke in front of us in the line said it would be worth waiting for – and it was. We didn’t wait too long and the food was delicious. Blackened fish nuggets to start and mixed Cajun tucker to follow – jambalaya, gumbo and shrimp creole.

THE MEDICAL TOUR - NEW ORLEANS

Saturday March 22, 1997 – New Orleans – Hot and sunny

We caught the shuttle bus to the airport and had a bite to eat out there before flying out at 9.30 am.

The weather was decidedly bleaker today – it was quite mild when we arrived last night but was nippy this morning with snow flurries predicted for later in the day. We are heading for New Orleans now where showers and temperatures in the mid 70sF (about 20C) are predicted. It will be our first visit there and we are looking forward to it. The rest of our plans – driving up the Mississippi valley may have to change as it appears that there is a very high chance of floods over the next week or two. We’ll check it out with the AAA in Houston next week.

I almost dozed off on the aircraft coming down from Pittsburgh, but it was not that comfortable with leather seats and no pillow. I had a second breakfast of fruit yoghurt and a muffin, which was good and that kept me going.

It was noticeably hot once we had landed and the captain asked us to put the window blinds down when we left the aircraft to keep it cool! That’s a first.

The airport seemed to be a good one, but the baggage reclaim area turned out to be a shambles and very badly signposted. We eventually found the baggage belt where our luggage was meant to come off but once again the missing case did not show. After further enquiries (and no apologies) they found that it had not been forwarded to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia, as promised so it had not made our flight. It was said that we would receive it at our hotel at 8.00 pm at the latest, but here we are at 8.45 pm and it still hasn’t turned up. The latest enquiry revealed that it had left the airport at 6.00 pm but delivery could take four hours!! They must have a lot of lost luggage to deliver.

There was no free transport supplied by the hotel and we were going to take the hotel express bus until we found that it only cost $1 less than a taxi! Weird economic approach that. We had a nice cabbie who delivered us to the hotel in about half an hour. It is a nice hotel but a little characterless, like so many chains. My Fodors has it classified as Expensive to Very Expensive so I guess we were fortunate to get it at what we thought was a reasonable rate when Harold quoted it to us in Cape Town. The foyer is on the eleventh floor and overlooks the river, as do all the rooms on that side. Our room overlooks a plaza to the rear. I checked on the price of the view. It was $40 per night and Rab thought that was too much.

We got going soon after checking in and decided to go on a bus tour. We often  do this in a new place to orientate ourselves.  There was one leaving at 2.30 so we had a bite to eat in the Food Court downstairs. We both chose red bean with rice and spicy sausage and found it very good too. After that little snack we strolled along the Moon Walk (named after a previous local dignitary) at the levee. 

The water is very high and the river is running very strongly. A couple of big boats went rocketing down and a tug was battling to get its barges around a corner. A paddle boat was loading passengers for a cruise and high on the stern deck a woman was playing a steam calliope. It was quite pleasant at a distance but rather loud and discordant close up. Apparently some of the bum notes were due to the slight breeze which tended to divert the steam from the organ pipes – or at least that’s what our bus driver/guide said.

The tour was interesting as was the guide. It lasted about two hours and covered the suburbs of New Orleans rather than the French Quarter. Amongst the sites we stopped at was one of the cemeteries where he explained the local custom of entombment rather than burial. The practice seems to be a practical solution to a high water table and some of the tombs are very impressive. After finishing off the tour we picked up a Baskin Robins ice cream to cool us down and strolled through Jefferson Square and on to Bourbon Street.

There were so many weirdos, fortune tellers and tarot readers – men with long purple hair; a gross man called Hubble Bubble would could’ve doubled for Jabba The Hutt; a woman in a wheelchair with hands like crab’s claws – not to mention assorted musicians, jugglers and tap dancers etc.

It was beginning to get dark as we strolled along Bourbon Street, which is really a continuous  chain of bars, sex shops and strip joints. Very noisy and very garish. People wandered everywhere with drinks in hand; young college boys with their beers and their eyes out on stalks; middle aged men (and women) clutching yard long cylinders of daiquiris; old drunks slugging back straight from the bottle. Music came from a dozen sources but all the singers sounded loud and off key. Little black kids with metal plates on their Nikes tapped away rhythmically for coins tossed by passersby. Neon lights flashing – all added up to a pretty unusual atmosphere. And all this at about 7.00 pm – it is difficult to imagine what it might be like late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

At one of the cross streets we came across a parade. Led by “Indians” on horseback and a couple of vintage cars, there were a dozen or so horse drawn carriages with young girls in them and some old trouts who looked as if they were – or thought they were – very important. We had no clue what it was all about. Later on, when we were further up town, a marching band came along, escorted by two police cars and followed by a shambling rabble of delegates from a conference who all looked rather sheepish under the gaze of onlookers.

Of course there are hundreds of restaurants in the French Quarter and I was feeling peckish, thirsty and my feet needed a rest, but Rab had seen a restaurant she fancied while we were on the bus, so off we trekked, looking for this place, whose name and location she could not recall exactly, although she thought it was the Gumbo Kitchen. Sporadic enquiries produced no firm information and so we pressed onwards moving further and further away from the lively part of town toward areas where office blocks and hotels reared skywards.

Finally, stopping a local couple walking their dog, we changed our line of questioning, in some desperation, and asked for guidance to any handy restaurant which would give us good local food at a reasonable price. They directed us to Mother’s (which we had actually seen on our wanderings) and it was just what we wanted. A noisy, happy diner with a wide range of local specialities. Rab had a Shrimp Creole and I had a Seafood Gumbo. We ordered small portions, having learned (or re-learned) our lesson at lunch time about the size of servings here. It was enough for us, and with a cold Corona was a satisfying meal. We will probably head back there for breakfast tomorrow – ham and grits being their main focus.

Back here Rab is dozing (since 8.30 pm) as she watches TV and I am waiting for the missing case. I called US Air who confirmed again that it had left the airport at 6.00 pm, but could take four hours to get here – presumably by pack mule!!