In a London hotel room, my eyes are wide open. It’s nearly 3:00 a.m. and I should be asleep but the world is heavy like a thick mist that refuses to rain. Large drops would be welcome. A lingering mist makes the heart a little anxious. The Queen’s birthday was yesterday. Prince died yesterday. My birthday is today. Two deaths and a birth. I saw a musical and ate a great meal with a dear friend to celebrate my birthday. I also dosed up on chemo in my hotel tonight. I’ll follow up in the morning with a chaser of steroid. While the dose is significantly lower than it was weeks ago, it remains a harsh monster. I sometimes see my life in a make-believe view-master.

I am flashing through the slides tonight. The Queen’s Royal image. Purple Rain. My legs. The impossible stairs in an NYC subway a year ago. The very doable stairs in the London Underground… thanks to the chemo and steroids that help my legs work. Prince on the big screen playing in my home town theater. Diana marrying Prince Charles. Royals. Regulars. My teenage years. My angst. My love for globetrotting vs. my homesickness and pining for small-town Texas. My love for all things traditional and all things strange. Two worlds hard to reconcile with each other. A Queen’s birth. A Prince’s Death. My legs taking me all over the streets of London. This time last year I thought I might not walk again. My heart should be heavier. My eyelids should definitely be heavier. I should be lonely, while I’m holed up in this room praying for sleep. But I am none of those things. I am living life and feeling every moment of it. No regrets. …God Save the Queen. Godspeed to Prince. Cheers to me. …. and to y’all I say a hearty… "go toward the light”.