Father of Six

What a week. I started Monday morning with a 10 mile spin around the neighborhood. Then flew to SJC. Worked Tuesday through Thursday in Sunnyvale. Got a hell of a good spin work out in Tuesday evening at the gym. Didn’t feel so hot the rest of the week, so I bagged my workouts on Wednesday and Thursday.

Denver got a “blizzard” while I was gone. Work and all other stuff was out of whack .

I flew home Friday.

Saturday, I did the grocery shopping, dropped off the laundry, went to work, and went back home. Tami and I went to a birthday party that evening.

Sunday, went to Tim’s and talked about his interview.

Then did a 50 mile bike ride. I hung half a hundred on it.

Later Eric and others came over to celebrate Eric’s 25th birthday.

So …

What it looks like out my airline window on the way to California.

And this is what my favorite recipe – fish in a bag looks like.

This is what it looks like for two hours each way on every flight. – iPod, and the puzzle page.

And this is what Boomer, me, and Eric look like on Eric’s 25th birthday eve.

Or, My Story of Cancer

I’m approaching my 5-year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer. In recognition of this date, I wanted to jot down a few things as I remember them in the seven month ordeal, as it were.

1. On May 17, 2004, Dr. Brad Bell, Urologist, called to tell me I was diagnosed with Stage I Seminoma Cancer.

2. This was six days after he had performed a left inguinal orchiectomy.

3. On this same May 17th, Tami told me that we were expecting.

4. How do you suppose I felt, knowing that I had cancer of my reproductive system, and yet I was capable enough to fire a live round, and have it hit it’s exact and perfect target? Pretty damned stoked, that’s what I say. It was also a very good distraction.

5. On May 19th, we obtained medical confirmation that we were expecting.

6. I turned 43, and took my oldest daughter on a graduation trip to New Orleans at the end of May.

7. At the consultation of Dr. Leonard, Radiation Oncologist, we determined to have radiotherapy.

8. On June 8th I went to the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center, had my radiation field set and double checked, and received three small tattoos to align the equipment in the same location each time. These are the only three tattoos that I have, and hopefully the only ones I’ll ever have. I’m a big fan of silk-screening and t-shirts.

9. On June 14th, I began radiation therapy. This was the first day of three weeks, five days a week, at a relatively low 2500 rads.

10. I didn’t have many side-effects from the radiation, just tired and a loss of hair in the shape of a rather large block numeral “1.”

11. My last radiation dose was delivered on July 3rd. I rented a jack hammer and removed our back patio that afternoon.

12. When something like this happens to you, I think we all start looking for different anchor points, or lighthouses. As cliché as it might sound, I admired Lance Armstrong’s story, and his perseverance. I read “It’s not about the bike” during this time and was inspired to Livestrong.

13. I went to London on business July 18th through 25th. I had plans take a quick trip to see Stage 19 of the Tour de France in Besançon. I became worried about my well being, and canceled at the last minute. I regret that decision.

14. I began a testing protocol of a CT scan and a chest x-ray every three months for the first year, every six months for the next two years, and once a year after that. They’ve all been clear.

15. I have a few earned nicknames as a result of this ordeal.

16. One Ball. And I’m not crazy, I’m just Half Nuts.

17. On December 20th, I saw someone work harder than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Nothing I’ve ever done comes remotely close to the energy Tami expended when she gave birth to our son.

18. I Livestrong for these seven specific reasons:

19. Tami Kay Feeney Worthington

20. Eric Andrew Worthington

21. Brittany Louise Worthington

22. Danielle Charlene Worthington

23. Amanda Elizabeth Worthington

24. Rebecca Catherine Worthington

25. Alexander Kenneth Feeney Worthington

I have something big, something significant in the works for May 17th, 2009 – my 5 year anniversary. It’ll probably include some kind of physical challenge, as you all know I have to suffer in order to know that I’m alive. And you can count on a party of some sorts.

Details to follow.

This post is prompted by a wonderful Christmas gift given by The Worthington’s (currently) of Lexington.

William the Conqueror (French: Guillaume le Conquérant), was Duke of Normandy from 1035 and King of England from 1066 to his death. William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of (mostly) Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.

William is often derogatorily referred to as “The Bastard” because of the illegitimacy of his birth. I like to think that persons of Anglo-Saxon descent feel he earned the moniker of “The Bastard” as a result of his illegitimacy in claiming the English throne.

The Domesday Book was the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William (the Conquering Bastard.) The survey was similar to a census by a government of today. While spending Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, William “had deep speech with his counselors and sent men all over England to each shire … to find out … what or how much each landholder had in land and livestock, and what it was worth.”

This desire to take a census was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of historical yearly writings in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The documents were started late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great (849-889, king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.) Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries across England and were independently updated. In one case, the chronicle was still being actively updated in 1154.

Understand that in the 11th century (1000-1099,) the English language we know today wasn’t spoken. The language was Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic dialect, or Old English, an early form of the English language that was spoken and written between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. In either case, the language of 1066 was a West Germanic language, with heavy influence from Old Norse, a member of the related North Germanic group of languages.

The name we have today, Worthington, was first recorded as a village as documented in the Domesday Book (1086) as “Werditone” and probably derives from the family name of “Werden”, or a man called “Weorth”, and is most likely to have been an Anglo Saxon settlement. This village still exists today, in the county of Leicestershire.

By contrast, the next recorded reference is in the county Lancashire. The earliest recorded use of the name “Worthington” in Lancashire was in 1212, where it was found that “WORTHINGTON was held of the lord of Manchester by the service of half a knight’s fee, Thomas de Worthington being the immediate tenant.” I interpret this to mean that a Lord of Manchester had lands in Lancashire, where a certain Thomas, being a knight, paid a tenants fee to make his residence there. Thomas was originally from Worthington.

We’ve already established that some 125 years earlier, the source of our name (Werditone, Leicestershire) was recorded. Secondly, the French usage – “de” to describe that Thomas is from “Worthington” bothers me. Having established my previous Anglo-Saxon heritage prejudice about the French Bastard William should explain my dislike of this “de” usage. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often used their former village name as a means of identification. So if my name was Thomas, and I came from the village of Worthington, I’d introduce myself as Thomas of Worthington. If you used “de” instead, I think you could be accused of being a Francophile.

Finally, what we have as proof is this: The origin of our name is recorded in Leicestershire, which appeared as “Werditone” in the Domesday Book of 1086. In Lancashire, the name is recorded as some form of “Worthinton”, in the Curia Rolls of 1212.

The derivative for both places is the same, that is, from the Old English pre-7th Century byname “Wureth”, or “Weorth,” , both being a derivative of “worth”, meaning enclosure, and the Old English “-tun”, meaning settlement. Since the history our little village in Leicestershire is mostly that of a rural farming community, I like to think that our name really means “farm-in-town.”

The Coat of Arms or Family Crest and Motto associated with the name is a topic for another lecture. I’m relatively satisfied with the particular rendition given here.

It’s been a while since I posted any photos … so here goes.

(Click the photo to see a larger image – be patient, some are large and might take a few moments to load.)

Lets start with a little Boomer as Batman.

Next, we find Brit and Daner out for a hike.

Then, cousins Macy and Boomer laying in the grass.

Moving along, we have a candid shot of Becca and Manda, with beau’s Andrew and Howie, after a sidewalk chalk session.

Boomer, the next Olympic 100m Freestyle Champion.

A triptych of Boomer in Overalls.

And finally, my Chicken and Leek Pie from Sunday’s Dinner.

Today is Tami’s birthday. I took the day off from work to celebrate with her. Boomer and I made her breakfast in bed, then after her shower we ran a few errands. Tami went to the movies with her sister, Trohe. I mowed the lawn and did my bike workout. John brought over Crème brûlée and Brit and Daner brought cupcakes. We all had Franks pizza for dinner. Photos below, including one of Tami with earrings from Suze.

Tami and her sister Trohe went at it on the air hockey table the other night. I’m pretty sure Tami won.

My grandmother, Fern Roberts, passed away last Sunday. She was 87.

Of all the things one might recall about their grandparents, I think the one universal memory shared by Grandma Fernie’s 9 grandchildren and most of her 20+ great-grandchildren is the occasion of our birthdays.

As my cousin Lisa so eloquently stated at Grandma’s funeral on Wednesday, there was one thing you could always count on for your birthday. You would get a card, a brief note about the weather and her health, and a stick of gum, almost always Wrigley’s Spearmint, Wintergreen, or Juicy Fruit. She’d sometimes ask you to come see her, or send a picture of yourself, or draw a picture for her so she could stick it on her fridge. But the stick of gum was the thing you enjoyed most.

When these events happen it is often difficult for everyone who’s life has been touched by – or made possible, in a way – to get to the place to pay respects and celebrate their life. This was the case for many of us, but I think our showing would have made Grandma happy.

Tami, Boomer, and I made the trip to Pittsburg, Kansas by way of Lexington. We spent Monday evening with Dad and Suze.

We drove down to Joplin on Tuesday and because of some travel bonuses, we would stay here – about 30 miles away. Tuesday evening we had dinner with Mom and Vern at Chicken Annie’s. After dinner we drove out to my sister’s in Columbus for a quick visit and then it was back to Joplin.

The funeral was on Wednesday. It was a nice ceremony, and my brother Greg played Amazing Grace on his saxophone as a tribute.

From the church in Pittsburg, we drove out to the cemetery in Girard where she will be buried. I placed six packages of Wrigley’s gum on her casket.

We all went back to the church where the local members prepared a nice lunch of “groceries.” With all 9 grandchildren in attendance, this was a great opportunity to take photos and exchange contact information.

Here is a photo of 8 of Grandma’s grandchildren. The back row are my mom’s children – Greg, Robi, Brad and Paul. The front row are my uncle’s children – Debbie, Cindy, Valerie, and Lisa.

This is a photo of the same grandchildren with my mom and her brother, my Uncle Frankie.

Here is a picture of me, my brothers Greg and Paul, my sister Robi, and our parents.

Here is a photo of (almost) everyone.

Later that evening, we all changed our clothes and went out to my sister’s house in Columbus for an impromptu party. We drank beer and homemade wine, told stories, laughed, tried to play music, ate four pizzas (which really freaked out my niece Maria) and generally had a good time. It was nice for the four children (Greg, Robi, Brad, and Paul) to be together under the same roof with our parents and step-parents. My uncle Frankie, his wife Pat, and their son Frankie Jr, came out too. My sister’s kids – my niece’s and nephew – all live in the area and they were there with their families too. Greg’s daughter, another niece, Chelsea made the trip too.

Wednesday was a good day. We said goodbye to my grandmother. We said hello to each other again. And for some, we said hello for the first time.