SMILE WEEK CONTINUES

smile......Function: noun1 : a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward and which expresses especially amusement, pleasure, approval, or sometimes scorn 2 : a pleasant or encouraging appearance......TOP TO BOTTOM...ALL I COULD FIT MORE ON FRIDAY...bill from work......jason f and sharon rockman....cousin barb and mike...noah and sara krypel w/bode miller....jerry garcia....karen m and susan kaminsky........have 10 move but could not post.......there's always tomorrow...doctors visit for me in the morning...should get all clear to start lite driving and stuff..i hope going stir crazy...

ALL YOU NEED ARE SMILES

KEEP SENDING SMILE PHOTOS TO thunderbyd@aol.com here are some that were sent today and some i had ...top of page.craig ...jason......lisa/john/and felicia....people i love and work with...my brothers...& me.......michele " my partner in crime"...susan(footloose and loose lucy stores) and nelson "nelson is the dog".......... dylan son of kelly & phil of blue sky fame......missy & britt.....loose lucy gal & brittt is an awesome dude.................more tomorrow

smile ..2

see blog below......had to keep it on for one more day......that was genuine.......and i was thinking of all of you..i have a request...send me any photo of a smile and i will post it for all to see......look through your photos ......tom

Smile

i was gonna give the blog a rest but i got to tell all of you it amazes me how thoughtful,caring,kind,amazing,sweet,loving,trustworthy,loyal,helpful,friendly,courteous,kind obedient,brave clean and reverent all of you are ( oh yeah from the trustworthy part on it is from my boyscout days) imagine me a boy scout.....we had a blast and someday i need to go to confession for the stuff we pulled...oh well another time...anyway what i am trying to say is not a day goes by that a neighbor does not stop in....a friend does not call.....a gift does not arrive...i guess you like me...you really like me......man o man i am forever humbled and forever grateful to have you all in my world......thank you my dear sweet family and friends.....i plan on celebrating life with each and everyone of you all......soon.........now if i could only stay awake long enough so you can hold me to that promise......t......c.........................photo taken yesterday by my neighbor chris...around 10 years old......thank god it's a little fuzzzy

PEACE ON THE SIDEWALKS OF HUNTINTON STATION

I was on one of my journeys..... talking to a great friend on the cell and i looked down at the sidewalk and there was this peace sign that was cracked into the cement from a tree root.....i mean it was like finding the virgin mary in a potatoe chip...or another religious artifact on the paint on your wall where people travel for miles to see....i will take all who wish to find peace to my new special place just a few blocks from my home......set up a pilgrimage .....sell loose lucy incense and blue sky clothing with a pair of naots......howl at the moon ....chant and dance....... you get the picture.....it has a special meaning to me that 4ft x 4ft piece of concrete i hope the neighbors whose house it is front of does not mind me staring at his sidewalk.....still finding my way through this illness...well through this recovery...good days are better than bad days and that is all i could ask for......weight is maintained at 144........two weeks is my target date to get back to work...they are swamped there and i miss everyone......safe travels to my pals on the road.........go #29..................TOM ...color is back on my blog...yeah...go mets

iN MY DARKEST HOURS.. part 2

still thurs night/friday morm.... after the dream and visual bizarreness....i was awakened at 4 am for my vital signs....still reeling from the drugs was not able to sleep again and just wished i were somewhere else...and for the first time i questioned why i went through with all of this ....imagine that self doubt the day after..a lot of good that kind of thinking does ya....anyhow my aide named Helmet (yep just like what you put on your head)... at 5am said it's time for your bath.....well i was kind of ripe ya know and i figured what the heck..you only live once and he proceeded to wash me down for over 1/2 hour and it was really a very calming experience and for that short period of time i was relaxed and not in the freakin out mode.......well sunrise came quickly....visitors were streaming in but i was on the outside looking in .....knowing there were friends and family there but just trying to get through each minute as best as i could......i did manage to stand up and walk a little but again only remember vaguely doing it both days......sometime durin the day i found a chair in the room that folded out into a small bed and i figured out a way to push my feet against the wooden part to get comfortable....however i pushed to hard and broke the darn thing... i did tell a nurse about it but they have enough on their mind(on my second stay in the hospital my broken chair was in the hall with a big broken sign on it ) i laughed each time i walked past it..and told all who would listen that it was me who broke it with my massive leg strength.....any how my doctor came in and i begged him to pull me off the morhine and the morphine drip that it was driving me out of this world....he agreed to change my pain medicine and i felt that it helped immediately to improve my state of mind.....because on friday night even though it was as uncomfortable as thurday i did not have those weird dreams and spider webs all over me.....i did notice that an office building across the street that of the 56 windows i counted during the day only one light was on...i was trying to figure out what was going on in that office......that took up at least 10 minutes of my time....10 minutes closer to daylight and my sponge bath with Helmet....( ok with 5 tubes coming out of you you take what you can get ya know,...........the rest is history....two days of hell for another 30 years on the planet......priceless

welcome back vansman...i hope your wife is feeling better...thanks for the call the other day
mets beat yanks...yeahhhhhh baby.......
went to visit my co-workers today...it was good to see everyone...wore me out i still am not ready to go back......although i am chomping at the bit.......

tom......heading around third .....cheffo

You don't miss your waters...until your well runs dry

i don't mean because will & grace and that's 70 show are now off the air..... i mean simple things you have always done and now have to really concentrate to accomplish them again.......i can only say these last 6 weeks..or should i say these last 7 months have been some of the greatest highs and lowest lows i have ever felt...i always maintained i would share with all of you those two days following my surgery...i now feel i need to write about it and if i already told you this stuff in person sorry about repeating myself......i awoke in a recovery room with sue and my full time nurse at my side.. when i looked about the room i had perfect vision...( i wasn't wearing my glasses or contacts ....perfect vision for about ten seconds....i even thought for a moment i went in for lazer eye surgery my mistake......funny thought at that time.....anyhow when i awoke again in my room which thanks to the families fund was a private room...( which i was so thankful for) then the fun started.....i never was a morphine kind of guy and that drug was playing tricks on my mind...i was not in a lot of pain...but having 30 staples..5 tubes..and a partridge in a pear tree coming out of me i guess i needed something for the pain...but it was a very dark time.....but again thanks to the families fund we were able to keep a 24 hr vigil on me and my aides and nurses were there when i needed them......there were these boots that were placed on my legs that inflated every three minutes to keep the blood flowing in my legs....they were so uncomfortable i wanted to rip them off ...but my aide calmly said..in his accent ...mr cheefo they are there for a reason and we must keep them on....well i woke form a strange morphine induced dream and the entire room was filled with spider webs....my aide passed me a drink and i asked him what was going on with the spider webs...and he kindly said...me cheefo there is nothing going on as i wiped the spider webs from my arms and drifted back to a place i have never been before and will never want to go again.........part 2 tomorrow of my DARKEST HOURS........

THANKS FOR LETTING ME GET THIS DOWN ON PAPER.......TOM...."DRUG FREE"...CHEFFO.....ps. weight went down to 142..... eat like a pig but i quess not enough...ice cream malts here i come.....hey hey hey fat albert help me out

RIGHT IN MY OWN BACK YARD

I HAVE TAKEN TO BEING LIKE AN EXPLORER ON MY MANY WALKS AND FOUND THIS GNOME TYPE HOME NOT THREE BLOCKS FROM MY HOME...IT IS ON THE SIDE OF SOME PROPERTY THAT I DRIVE BY QUITE OFTEN AND NEVER SAW IT...IMAGINE THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURE AND I WOULD HAVE MISSED IT IF I DID NOT JUST WALK ON BY IT.....PRETTY COOL EH....ANYWAY IT GOES TO SHOW YA OPEN YOUR EYES TO SEE THE WORLD.....

MA & PA GEESE ARE DOING FINE AND HEWEY,DEWY AND LOUIE (THAT'S WHAT I CALL THE BABIES ) ARE GETTING BIGGER AND FATTER FASTER THAN ME

I SPOKE TO ANDY....Benjamin (ANDY'S SON) CAME THROUGH THE SURGERY FINE..A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED THAN THEY WOULD HAVE LIKED BUT IT TURNED OUT OK IN THE END

TODAY WEIGHT....144...THIS WILL BE A DAILY FEATURE UNTIL I HIT 160......WHO WANTS TO BET ON THE EXACT DATE?

OH YEAH I LOVE WHEN THE COMMENTERS COMMENT TO EACH OTHER.....ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH.......

TOM..mOTHER GOOSE...CHEFFO

WITNESS LOVE

i WENT BACK TO THE SMALL POND LIKE AREA WHERE THE DUCKS AND GEESE HANG OUT ..IT IS MORE LIKE A RAIN RUNOFF BUT ITS THE CLOSEST TO A POND I CAN WALK TO AND SNAPPED THIS PHOTO....I WATCHED AS THE PARENTS CARED FOR THEIR YOUNG AND ONLY LET THEIR GUARD DOWN WHEN THEY KNEW THEY WERE SAFE...EVEN THE SLOWEST OF THE GROUP GOT THE SAME CARING LOVE AS DID THE OTHERS.....SHE WAS NOT A RUNT IN HER MOTHERS EYES.......I HAD TO SMILE AT THE SIGHT OF THEM WADDLING THROUGH THE FENCE AND DOWN THE ROAD..WHERE THEY WERE HEADED I HAVE NO IDEA....MOM OR DAD KINDA GAVE ME A LOOK LIKE SEE YA TOMORROW AND WE WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS...I WILL CHECK UP ON THEM .......I MEAN I REALLY DON'T HAVE MUCH ELSE TO DO YA KNOW.........CAN'T QUITE GET THE HANG OF NEEDLE POINT .........BUT WHO KNOWS.......

P.S....ANDY" SON (FELLOW BLOGETTE IS HAVING THAT EYE SURGERY TUES........HOPE ALL GOES WELL.....KEEP US POSTED ANDY......TELL HIM THE NURSES ARE CUTE AND THE ANGELS OF THE HOSPITALS.....IF HE NEEDS A VETERENS ADVISE TELL HIM TO CALL ME

TOM

WEEKEND UPDATE

first and foremost i would like to wish all mothers and mothers to be a happy mothers day...for you see without mothers none of us would be here and that is just a fact.....speaking of mothers my aunt gloria whom my brothers and i home we moved into after our parents passed on (kinda like my second mom)(along with my aunt mary) came to see me saturday along with my cousins roe and arnello and my best bud Johnny nor ( a member of my band black horse) and just happened to marry my cousin roe 25 years ago it was a fun visit that topped off 4 days of friends and family coming by......it was fun to go over old times with my cuz arnelo whom i have not seen in over 15 years......he was and is a fine person and one that i intend to keep in touch with...i could never understand why some people just drift apart sometimes....but i guess as long as they drift back together it is cool......

my progress is slow at best and life being homebound is not all i thought it would be...the weather stinks and having visitors really helped.....books/movies/walks/naps/small meals is about what my life has become....strength coming back but the roller coaster ride i am on takes getting used to NEO continues toamaze me and that part is working fine ....my digestive system is still working slowly ...but i am eating a little more and gained a pound......that was a major event in my life.....sorry it is not as exciting as past blogs......but being anchored has limited adventures....i will start to bring a camera on my walks and share those adventure with you ( today i saw a family of geese complete with mommy daddy and babies....i wished her a happy mothers day and she made a hissing sound at me)also we had another family of birds born in our bird house on our front porch....(the wire broke and the birdhouse fell 10 feet but babies and mother are fine)......see there are exciting things happening.....right outside your door...ya just have to look.....tom

SUNSHINE....SHOW YOUR FACE

well it has been a pretty exciting week and i an flattered that people think i look so good and believe me they are being kind or it is amazing what a baseball cap can hide.....still 25 lbs below my regular weight and food although tastes great i can only eat small portions and at this rate i will never gain it back....and now on to today's subject...SUNSHINE..I MEAN ENOUGHS ENOUGH..I FEEL LIKE I AM STUCK IN FOLSON PRISON AND I HAVE NOT SEEN THE SUNSHINE IN I DON'T KNOW WHEN..(j.cash)... how ever a picture arrived yesterday from kent and felicia's beautiful daughter CARLY AND IT WAS ALL SUNSHINE TO ME (see insert)...THANKS CARLY...YOU ROCK...AS DO YOUR PARENTS....Yesterdays visitors....my dear friends from Israel nitsan and giora....and felicia and michele two people i could never do without in my life...made my day.......more surprise visitors today....guess i gotta wear that baseball cap again....they don't realize how much this all means to me.....enjoy the day......after all..it is what it is

tom

FRIENDSHIP

had some great visitors yesterday...it is always fun to see friends and share my war stories with them.....fellow blogettes paul and susan k came by for a visit along with my pal jeff....(susan came during evening visiting hours) and got to hang with her new "soul sister" casey.....i don't know.... they are so much a like it's scary.....i think i over did it and had some lo-mien at my buddy leo's chinese restaurant ...where i am treated like a king...and it was my first field trip other that doctors and hospital in the last month....felt good to be with buds....they are in for a product meeting and i will miss being there.....i know they will carry on without me.....the rest of my friends are coming over friday after the meeting to visit these skin and bones...( name of my new band)hehhehe.......

oh well thanks for the friendships we have formed...i will never thake them for granted

phil from blue sky...thanks for helping my crew out at the show....always comforting to know that "road family" will always shine......(we could use some blue sky in new york.....cloudy every day now)
it was beautiful when i was in the hospital....go figure

tom "still waiting for that cheeseburger" cheffo

LIFE

this phase of my journey has been a slow "walk in the park" i always enjoyed the down time when i could get it but down time when your body is 10 steps behind your mind is not exactly the greatest combination....i do what i need to do to get through the day...one step closer to good health...one step close to feeling like my old self.....it is quite an amazing adventure and i have posted almost 200 times hoping to share at least some of it with you....it is by far one of the biggest reasons i have maintained some sanity sharing and writing about it and letting my feelings known to all......i have rarely left this keyboard without a sense of relief that i am not alone on this journey that very few get to take....let alone share with all his friends and loved ones......i leave you with this and it is been said before....take nothing for granted....for every sneeze that comes out of you ....every time you speak....go to the bathroom...throw a football....have a catch....read a book....ship a rock on a pond....drive a car...kiss your loved ones.... tie your shoe...listen to music...digesting food..smiling...walking...somewhere someone is having a hard time even doing some of these things.....i know ...i have been one of those people for the last month....and proud to be able to write about it....

see ya all soon i am sure......my journey is coming to an end.......or is it just the beginning...tom

TOP 10 REASONS FOR BEING IN THE HOSPITAL

10. YOU GET TO STAY IN YOUR PAJAMAS 24/7
9. YOU GET TO SAY HELLO TO THE SAME PERSON 50 TIMES IN THE SAME DAY
8. THE "NON SICK" PEOPLE ALWAYS LOOK AT YOUR FEET WHEN YOU PASS THEM BY
7. YOU HAVE A LIVE PERSON AT THE END OF YOUR INTERCOM TO ANNOY
6. YOUR BED MAGICALLY MOVES TO ADJUST TO YOUR BODY
5. YOU GET EXCITED ABOUT THE 0NE HOUR WATERCOLORS CLASS
4. WHEN THEY PULL ALL THE TUBES AND NEEDLES OUT OF YOU YOU HAVE A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
3. YOU SIT ON THE EDGE OF YOUR BED WAITING FOR THE GUY WHO SELLS NEWSPAPERS
2. YOU TRY TO ORGANIZE IV POLE RACING AROUND THE HALLS ONLY TO BE SHOT DOWN FOR INSURANCE REASONS
1. AND THE #1 REASON FOR BEING IN THE HOSPITAL...YOU GET TO HEAR "MR CHEFFO YOUR GOING HOME"

HOME NOW....FOOD IS STAYING DOWN....I HAVE A GREAT NURSE (SUE) WHO TAKES NO CRAP FROM ME AND IS PUTTING UP WITH MY WORLD .......THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO CARE ...AND FOR ALL THE PRAYERS, POEMS AND LOVE.....I CAN SEE THE LIGHT FINALLY ....NEO CONTINUES TO AMAZE ME AND IS WORKING HARD.........SEE SOME OF YOU ALL THIS WEEK AND I AM REALLY EXCITED FOR THAT....STILL 20 POUNDS LIGHTER..BUT GETTING STRONGER EVERY DAY........TOM "TOOTHPICK" CHEFFO

HAPPY .......CINCO DE MAYO

TIME TO CELEBRATE....I'M COMING HOME SO LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON......another semi sleepless night i found out it was not even the patient snoring but his son who slept in the room .....and he was the only one who slept...the SOB slept through everything..i have no idea why he was even there if something happened to his father he would have slept through it.....oh well plenty of time to sleep...this unexpected week in the hospital was a real eye opener as to how much the human body can endure...how many pokes and prodes...x-rays and ct scans...IV'S AND NO ZZZZZ....watercolors and woodwork...scaning the halls late at night..trying to make sense of it all..always and i mean always passing someone who is so much worse off then you could ever be.....people in street clothes invading our space..sometimes i wonder who the lucky ones are them or us...we are in control of our illness..they walk the halls not knowing if the should come or go ....not knowing what to say to their loved ones..holding back the tears until the walls of the halls offer them the santurary they need...so here's to the people in street clothes today ( just put mine on for the first time in a week).....enjoy the sidewalk your loved ones are getting the best care anywhere...you did the right thing bringing them here..may they walk out on their own two feet soon and feel the wind at their backs again.....

see you in Huntington my friends....visiting hours are 9-9 monday thru sunday

thanks to the families fund for all your help.......TOM>>>homeward bound>>>Cheffo

SLEEPLESS IN NY

HI ALL...hope the world is treating you well.....fiaNlly got a roomate yesterday....someone to share old war stories with...someone to compare wounds with...someone to talk to after the late night wakeups......WRONG...he does not speak english and that means his entire family does not speak english ( why does everyone yell at them thinking they would understand them better)....they also do not understand the concept of turning off the lights at night ..i even showed them the switches...they just smiled and said hank-you ......oh well i did find out something interesting.....EVERYONE SNORES IN ENGLLISH....i wrapped a pillow case around his head..eerrr around my head and made the best of it.....ok now about me....looks like food and drinks stayed down ( not witout it's moments ) and should be tubeless today...all needles are out of my body now and i am slowly becoming me again....NEO IS WORK FANTASTIC....AND OTHER GREAT NEWS,,,,,,NO CANCER IN MY LYMPH NODES ...KEY MAN.. THAT IS KEY......we made the right choice in removing bladder signs that there was still some cancer in the old bladder made that choice correct...it would have roared back if i just would have done the CHEMO.......OH WELL CLOSER TO HOME THAN NOT......KEEP ON KEEPING ON..
thanks for listening to me on the other side of my cell...it is my link to the real world.......TOM....YAWN...CHEFFO

REMEMBER KENT STATE....MAY 4 1970......SEEMS LIKE IT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.......
SEE YA ON THE FLIP SIDE.....HAPPY SALES TO YOU.......

HOTEL MEMORIAL

offical name of my hospital is ...memorial sloan-kettering ...now to be nick-named hotel memorial...still here and still standing and still have belly tube gonna wait till i digest solid food before they remove it ( starting on solids today) (wed)
looks like my check-out date is friday...spent some of my days working with arts and crafts and watercoloring don't laugh we have all the perks here...we get to paint on pieces of copper and bake them in an oven for a beautiful piece of jewelery or refrigerator magnet..hehhe....it is -my friends.. time to reflect again...enjoy your freedom...smell the flowers coming up....smile one for me today..i can feel your love...516-946-1134 cell is still working...unless i am in woodwork and building a model car..you cannot interupt an artist while working...heeee.....kiss a frog today...may turn out to be your prince or princess

tom....the monkey man....cheffo
happy birtday britt...( missy loves ya)
hope your nose is healing ben
happy tent sale footloose.....go to footloosecomfort.com for beautiful shoes.......

WATER WATER EVERY WHERE

<AND FINALLY A DROP TO DRINK........they let me drink one inch of water an hour last night and my friends when it has not touched your lips in 4 days it tastes so good...i felt like i was on a desert and i had to make that last.so i sipped it slowly and realy enjoyed it......today (tues) i am able to drink broth and juice...yahoooo......i am still being "fed" my a tube and i feel like an astro-nut....because i remember they had to eat from tubes...except my tube goes right to my blood stream....i pretend that eggs and bacon are being pumped through my veins for breakfast.....final tube ....that is my safety valve out of NEO is being removed today....i will be tubeless except for the IV IN MY ARMS....freedom is a wonderful thing..........i will have a complete medicial review on tomorrows blog....some good news was passed my way today but i will wait till i get all the facts......
tom
happy b- day britt....missy what is the answer to the joke?
andy ....good luck with ben...that really stinks....hope he does not get gun shy ....it happens to the best....
kev m..may pams airways open up soon and a new ..clear day is upon you all
loose lucy/ footloose crew....way to kick butt selling naots at the festival.....cannot wait to see you'all>
marrisa have fun at the jr prom...and to the boys ....luc and ..enjoy baseball i know your grandpa would be so proud...remember hit the round side of the ball...lol

WATER WATER EVERY WHERE

<AND FINALLY A DROP TO DRINK........they let me drink one inch of water an hour last night and my friends when it has not touched your lips in 4 days it tastes so good...i felt like i was on a desert and i had to make that last.so i sipped it slowly and realy enjoyed it......today (tues) i am able to drink broth and juice...yahoooo......i am still being "fed" my a tube and i feel like an astro-nut....because i remember they had to eat from tubes...except my tube goes right to my blood stream....i pretend that eggs and bacon are being pumped through my veins for breakfast.....final tube ....that is my safety valve out of NEO is being removed today....i will be tubeless except for the IV IN MY ARMS....freedom is a wonderful thing..........i will have a complete medicial review on tomorrows blog....some good news was passed my way today but i will wait till i get all the facts......
tom
happy b- day britt....missy what is the answer to the joke?
andy ....good luck with ben...that really stinks....hope he does not get gun shy ....it happens to the best....
kev m..may pams airways open up soon and a new ..clear day is upon you all
loose lucy/ footloose crew....way to kick butt selling naots at the festival.....cannot wait to see you'all>
marrisa have fun at the jr prom...and to the boys ....luc and ..enjoy baseball i know your grandpa would be so proud...remember hit the round side of the ball...lol

THESE DAYS

m-orning world...hope all is as well as can be.....my progress is still improving...still on a IV ONLY and food seems so distant to me know i have to re-train myself to chew.....had a restful night and would love to hear your voice anytime...you can call my cell 516-946-1134..or call room ( i will post # later ) i am in room 535b....still no room-mate and i have the suite to myself...i am thinking wed-thursday discharge they want to make sure i can keep food down...i am looking at this as part of my 6 weeks recovery only i am doing part of it in the hospital...NEO_bladder is working fine and i am happy about that...now just have to get intestines to not be still mad at me for cutting them to use as part of my bladder ( you know how intestines are fickle kind of organ).....oh well .....all for now...keep the faith,,,,tom