The die is cast

Dear friends and family,

Yesterday, we made the reservation to go to Chicago for the Shakespeare Association Conference in Chicago. We leave on 31 March and return on 4 April—a very very long span for me. Unfortunately, there are events I want to go to on Wed. evening March 31st, and I am in a seminar scheduled for the very last time slot, late Saturday afternoon. Last year, one day so tired me out that I left early, but this time Merwin will be with me, and we have a convenient hotel room, one not requiring too much walking. I have work to do for the seminar, mainly reading all the papers, and reading a couple in particular to be able to discuss them on the spot. But there is time for that. I will use every aid I can to make the trip easy.

We wanted to settle the flight arrangements because Jesús, our dear friend from Spain, will be arriving in Glen Head a few days early to spend some time with us, and then we will go together to Islip Airport for the Southwest Flight to Chicago. He needed to get all the information so he could order his tickets from Valencia. Southwest makes it very easy for seniors and those with disabilities, and it's a convenient airport to use because of its long-term parking. We haven't gone anywhere in a long time, but we are hopeful this will work out.

Yesterday also we went to Dr. Kurzyna, and there was good news. My platelets are well over 100, 148 in fact, which is just below the low normal. On returning home, I wrote to Dr. Raza to see if she could now enter me in in the INCYTE trial. Incyte has only a 30% success rate, and it is not a cure, but it would possibly shrink my huge spleen. I think I would be able to breathe better if it were smaller. Dr. K also thought my lungs sounder better, so I hope the prednisone is doing its job.

Right from the doctor's office we went to our free Tuesday movie, at the Roslyn Theater. We chose the light-weight Sandra Bullock film—sweet, upbeat, entertaining—but nothing major. We could have seen The Silent Man there, a better movie, I am sure, but we would have had to wait an hour. Next week, maybe.

So another quietly eventful day.

Love to all,
Bernice