I nearly missed my anniversary! [View all]

[Staph]

It's been twenty long years since I joined this merry band of brothers and sisters.

I was in Chicago for a week, teaching a software class for IBM. I was talking to the manager of the education facility, all about the madness of President George, when he mentioned this website that he belonged to. I had already started reading DU, but he convinced me that I should join up and start commenting. And I did, February 7, 2005.

Since then . . . my world has changed, over and over. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, and then again in 2017 and 2019. Immunotherapy drugs are truly miracles - I've been cancer-free for more than five years!

I lost my job when IBM sold off my division, while I was on my first medical leave in 2014. But I got a call from a friend who joined the new company and invited me to work part time, until I hit 65 and could start receiving my pension and Social Security.

I moved in to care for my mother as she was pushing 90-years-old, so that I could care for her. But that's when I was first diagnosed with cancer, so she drove me to doctor's appointments and chemotherapy and radiation. That's been twelve years; Mom's now 101 and still kicking (though she quit driving at 92!).

DU widened my view of politics, so I got involved in the local Democratic Party, and campaigned twice (unsuccessfully) for a friend who ran for the state legislature. I took my two sisters and a niece to Washington in 2017 for the Women's March - absolutely amazing!

I'm not a frequent commenter, though I read DU daily. You all are my first view every morning (Is he dead yet?) and one of the last things I view each night. Thanks to all of you for helping me survive the last twenty years - here's to the next twenty!