Back in action

Am back in action after a brief interlude to go thru a stem cell transplant. We did not achieve remission as was our hope but did knock back the cancer a bit. After a break to recover from the ordeal in the hospital (Emory), I am back on chemo. Just did a three week stint with Velcade (once per week). Took a week off and will start another three week cycle on Monday. Am feeling pretty chipper (for an old guy!). Not back to 100%, but able to do most things.
I have a friend who is going through the transplant process now. He and I have made a commitment to run/walk the Peachtree Road Race in July 2012. My goal is to complete it in 1.5 hours. This will mean I have to clock 15 minute miles. It will take some training to get me to that level. The peripheral neuropathy makes it a bit tough, but it will still be doable as long as the neuropathy (in feet) does not get any worse.
I am going to try to make entries at least once a week so stay tuned for the latest.

Haley Transition Team Application

I sent this note to the Nikki Haley transition team this morning at 4:25 am. Had had an attack of chemo brain at 2 am which causes my creativity to peak. You cannot believe the stuff I created.

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Nikki,

Yes, I want to join your team as long as I don't have to do any heavy lifting, jumping or running. I refuse to come to Columbia other than to visit you or to watch the Tigers beat the Gamecocks. We need to make some big changes in SC and I want to help bring that about.

This is from my website and is very out of date. http://people.clemson.edu/~colflgg/  It does have my vitae, also old and illustrating my academic side. I am an internet pro and am in the process of switching to a Blog  for my day-to-day stuff. Will eventually update the aforementioned website if I feel that is needed. I say this as the new media has taken up a very important role in communications of all kinds. It is the primary way to reach a lot of folks. It helped Obama win in 2008. That is how the young folks got involved and they were a major reason why he won the election. The other reason was that the MSM refused to vet Obama. They sure did not have any qualms of vetting you. I was sickened by some of the stuff they did during your campaign.

I have been involved in the Oconee County Republican Party for 20 years. I have to tell you that the group here in Oconee is getting very long in the tooth and needs an influx of youth and new ideas. We also need to reach out to minorities. I have given myself a mission of working on those issues.

You may remember me from your visit to OCRP HQ in Seneca. I am not, repeat not, a Groupie. (See attachments) [These were taken by a photographer from the Seneca Journal and she will need credits if you use them.] When you shook my hand, you said "Colonel Flagg, I love your enthusiasm". I was the cheerleader who made the crown make some noise. Mick Zais appreciated that due to our backgrounds. I have circulated the photo far and wide. Folks, other than friends and relatives, mostly wanted to know who was that Old Guy with Governor- Elect Haley!

BTW, the election was too close. When I slipped into bed on election night I was sickened as you were behind. I think I know some of the reasons for it being that close. Will elaborate if you care to hear it.

Finally I am a 78 year old man with the attitude of a 12 year old whose doctor says he has the body of a 60 year old. All of that wisdom in such a nice package.

Regards,

Col Flagg (My pseudonym  - see my blog for July 4, 2010 for short explanation).

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John F. Passafiume, AKA Col Flagg

Kyle Parker

Kyle Parker, the Clemson Quarterback, visited the Cancer Center of the Carolinas  Facility on Wednesday, September 22nd. He visited with patients and signed autographs. Kyle is a wonderful young man and make a bit hit with all of the folks. Linda and I were lucky enough to be there and I have enclosed photos of us posing with Kyle. I  asked him how he felt after that beating he took in the Auburn game -- the officials needed to throw the flag a lot more as they allowed the Auburn players a lot of questionable late hits. The spearing in the back when Kyle was prone on the ground was an obvious one. We were proud of Kyle for playing hurt like he did for the rest of the game after that hit. It certainly was a game we should have won and a healthy Kyle would have hit that open man in the end zone during the overtime.

USMA AG Form 2-1

Have been instructing my Grandson on some of the aspects of cadet life and wanted him to see what the form looked like. Thanks to Bulldog Drummond and Dan Ludwig, I have a copy of a Form 2-1 awarded to Bulldog during Plebe Year. Note that the originating officer was a Squid, Lt JE Tingle, USN. Bulldog has informed me that the guy was his company Tac. We all owe Bulldog an additional measure of respect with the knowledge that he endured this for his first two years at WP. A big HooAh! for Bulldog and all the other classmates from F-1.

Incidentally, I googled JE Tingle and came up with this web page. It could possibly be the same person as the dates seem consistent. Anybody know this story?

http://solantamity.com/Solant/SantaMaria.htm

Origin of Colonel Flagg nickname.

With regards to my nickname, it was assigned to me by the students in one of my classes at Georgia Tech in 1979. On the first day of class one student decided to call me John. I handed him a drop slip. I told the class that I understood that Passafiume was difficult for some of them to pronounce but they could work on it. I then explained to the class that they could address me as Colonel as I was a retired one, they could also call me Professor as that was my title, but they could not call me Doctor as I did not have a PhD. A group of students in the class, after observing my manner in the class, decided that I reminded of that eccentric Colonel who appeared from time to time in the "MASH" TV series, Colonel Flagg, so they decided to give me that nickname and offered to call me that as an alternative. I told them that was fine and they ran with it. Soon everyone was calling me Colonel Flagg. When I was asked to select an email address by the computer folks in the department, I asked for colflagg. They said it was too many characters, eight, as I could only have seven. So, we ended up with colflgg as my email and it has stayed with me ever since as did the nickname.

Most of the folks at the University call me Colonel Flagg as do family members and a lot of folks in the community.

Is there a resemblance?

http://tiny.cc/4cihc

Stem Cells

Linda and I are off to Greenville tomorrow to have a consult with Dr Fanning, SCT expert. We will talk about what we need to do to harvest some of my stem cells (if we can find any) and freeze them for possible later use on down the road. I have been told by my oncologist here that I am good candidate for the procedure even though I am over the typical age limit. He said I was in very good shape for a 77 year old.

If we decide to harvest the stem cells, I will first have to go through a series of tests to be sure I am fit enough to endure the procedure. Then I will have to be scheduled for the harvest which will take several 4 hour visits after we do some chemo for a few days. If you are curious as to details, do a web search on stem cell harvest from blood and you will have any level of detail available for you to peruse.

Will let you know how the consult went in my next post. I am feeling topnotch and hope I can stay that way for a bit. I consider myself blessed to feel the way I do. Linda, of course, has a lot to do with this as she makes sure that my diet is perfect.

A Fun Day

Today, Nana and I had a fantastic day. First we went to Fike early in the morning. I shot some hoops and worked out. Nana worked out too. It was definitely a great start for our fun day.
After our morning workout we went to get our favorite iced teas. Soon after finishing our mid day meals we arrived in Anderson and started our shopping trip. Our first stop was Publix's grocery store. Nana of course always being so thoughtful of other people bought Grandad and I our favorite cookies and donuts.
We finished our shopping trip with Michaels, Target and Books-A-Million. Nana bought clothes for me and my mom. She also bought me a brand new planner for school and a mini-calendar.
We had a great day today. Nana and I shared a lot of laughs. She is so fun to be around and I love her very much. What a beautiful day and memories to cherish forever.

Anonymous