Frank’s Corner

To understand some of what has and hasn’t been done probably requires a small understanding of our family dynamics. Their are the four of us Mom, dad and two sons. Together we form the partnership ClenchPICS LLC, whose acronym PICS had to change mid 2007 from “Personal Image & Computing Specialists” to “Professional Image & Composition Specialists” because son the younger, our resident I T genius and builder of computers, joined the Army to become a satellite communication systems installer - maintainer, which left doing the business (what there is of it) to Dad and son the elder, our resident video genius (B.F.A. in Film making from Five Towns College) who moved to Brooklyn in Dec. Okay we have Army dude, enrgeeman.com, Brooklyn guy, milkandchase.com, dad (sometimes referred to as Frank) who tells everybody we can do anything digital (and then worries out how) and Mom, the backbone of the business as she’s the one whose “real” job salary has been the true family income. Oh, yeah, in case you didn’t realize dad’s retired and, as both sons remind me, old.

I always liked gadgets and photography, so as the boys came along and video was becoming family reasonable (at least in my mind) and mom thought (translate, I convinced) looking at the videos would be more enjoyable then just the photo scrap books I acquired our first VCR. As this is the late 1980’s I’ve also started playing with these new fangled personal computers and even convinced mom computers would be such a big part of the boys lives we should get them each their own. So from about 1986 there have always been at least 3 computers in the house and I hate to admit it but truth be told if we could get even 10 cents on the dollar for all the “old” software (from still readable 5 1/4″ , 3 1/2″ ,CDs & DVDs) , old computers from 286’s up and the parts, cases and monitors around here I could probably pay 90% of our bills. As we heard of it or it came out we usually tried it, we still have like 6 of the original old Aviator wireless network creators from WebGear, an original Dazzle as well as a Dazzle DVC-50. In fact we’ll be putting much of this and a good deal of video equipment we have (including a working RCA ProWonder VCR) up for auction on eBay under my AOL screen name of gismomaker.

Yes, mom did like all the cute videos and no we probably haven’t watched most of them in years, but we do have them and can watch and hear them whenever we want and that’s the important thing. As the boys were growing up we started attending First Presbyterian Church of Babylon because of their Sunday School and other programs. The boys both played instruments (violin and cello) so it was natural for mom to usher them into playing in the Chime and later Bell choirs. While I always videoed their school concerts they were simply family affairs, but when we videoed the chime choir and music ministry concerts at church mom started asking me to make copies for the other parents, as the years past more people were asking for copies until we were typically making about 3 dozen copies.

About this time Brooklyn teamed up with two friends at church to make a short film Elijah’s Cave, which actually got the 3 of them invited to a film festival in Switzerland from which time his path to videoland was certainly etched in stone. Of course this lead us to bring a camera into the sanctuary to video baptisms and then give copies to the parents. That lead to “can we show a simulcast in Fellowship Hall for Easter in case of the usual overflow from the sanctuary”. Of course we were told go ahead, but it has to be with your equipment as the church doesn’t have any - so we did, 2 cameras, projector, switcher, about 1200′ of cabling, more than a weeks work from both sons and the help of about 6 young people on Easter Sunday. With the cameras and cabling already in place and the young people game to do it again thus started the Video Ministry. For a while we had Saturday afternoon video sessions where the young people not only had some fun making a number of short films , but really learned how to use the equipment, direct and produce the videos as well as do some editing.

When the bells needed overhauling and maintenance the music ministry asked to hold a concert with offering to try covering the cost, we were asked if it would be possible to somehow project some old video of the bells and possibly some animated video of bells as part of the concerts and oh yes could you make a DVD of the concert - we said of course, (more long nights, much more wiring and a number of added pieces of equipment) then realizing the concert was in fact 2 concerts on 2 nights we started planning what turned out to be the DVD S(ave) O(ur) S(ongs) “the best of both nights”. This naturally lead to a bell concert of the mostly high school seniors as their last concert together and the DVD “Blaze of Glory”

It was only a short step then with all the equipment in place and the enthusiasm of the young people working with us that we started recording every Sunday’s services. Some additional equipment, alott of experience and work from a dedicated group of young people and we were soon doing live edits to tape of every service. Additional equipment and it became live edit to DVD and copies available the day of the services.

Then the question is we’re showing video in Fellowship Hall and saying we have a contemporary service, so why aren’t we using video in the sanctuary. While our sanctuary doesn’t lend itself to a single screen and is over a hundred years old, it could have taken less then a year to agree on and put in the two screens and projectors we did, but it was worth it. This is where Army dude really got involved with the video ministry. (up till now he had only serviced all churches computers, networked most of them, got the copier online as a network printer and as part of our business completely wired BCS our churches school for the internet at cost.) He designed and built a computer, Linux based, to handle all the video inputs and separate outputs we could think of possibly needing or using at the time, which was good because we soon realized a 3rd screen was needed for the rear wall so the Praise team, leader, pastor and choir (we now use the projectors in our traditional service also) could see what everyone else is. This pretty much brings us up to last October with what we do at church, which is why we keep buying equipment for the business and praying we’ll eventually get the work to pay for it. Much of our week to week adventures with this ministry have been chronicled at milkandchase.com, which by the way is a whole story of its own, but if you want that story you’ll have to go the site and ask for it in the comments or emails.

From October to present next time.

Just reread yesterday’s entry and realize I am doing this to remind myself of who I really think I am, so I can keep moving ahead with my family, life, business, and whatever else God allows me to deal with or has for me to accomplish. I certainly know that for about 2 months I absolutely felt like doing nothing and was tired all the time, no matter how much I slept and I don’t believe simply putting a name on a condition I have made me that way, I do think the 70 mg of Prednisone a day had allot to do with it. As the dosage was lowered, while the platelet count was (is) coming back down (the Dr. says 70 - 80,000 would be acceptable) I have started to feel more like doing things, but even that only seems to last for an hour or so as I’m working on anything before I’m tired again. (Reminds me I have to ask Dr. if 20% of platelets are bad do they still count in the lower limit acceptable for the blood count.)

Anyway 2 months of walking around dead on my feet trying to keep doing everything that needed to be done and not telling anyone we didn’t have to (other then Pastor, a few close friends and and as few people I have to work with as possible) certainly left a mess of all the normal things like paying the bills, raking the leaves and assorted other things associated with home ownership. Then the last couple months of feeling like getting things caught up, but being tired after an hour or so of working at them just barely kept me even with as far behind as I’d gotten. Oh yeah, in with all this was fitting in those extra Dr. visits for blood work every week and those scans and results of them and all.

As of this week my count is at 100,000 and I’m on 2.5 mg prednisone daily along with all the other stuff I’d been taking all along with one added dose of Metformin a day for the diabetes control. And I think I can / should look back and take inventory of what I have and have not accomplished - more on that next time.

While the title is a mouthful, it really about says it all in covering my last 4 months.

It all started back in the first week of October when I saw my Dr. for a routine 3 month checkup. The Blood work that visit and then from an in office cyst removal ( the next Monday) showed a “sudden” drop in platelets to about 50,000. Blood taken on follow up visit 3 days later show a drop to below 30,000 and got me a call to come back in. Just looking at me Doc. said he was admitting me to the Hospital. Platelet count at hospital was below 7,000 - received transfusion of 2 units platelets and was started on 70 mgr Prednisone a day. The following day after a Cat Scan I was released with a platelet count of 235,000. The next Monday (October 18) I had bone marrow taken for a biopsy, which rather then show the cause of the low platelet counts showed that I have “Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (est 20%)”. Of course I was given this news at my next visit with the Dr. at the Oncology group October 31.

I know I’m getting tired, I just read over this and I’m asking myself why am I writing this? And I guess I hope its mostly to get things straight in my own head. But also because, although I’ve done allot of reading on CLL I really haven’t found anything of practical use as to what to expect as time goes on and maybe someone out there can give me that information. Or possibly there’s someone like myself just looking for what’s ahead and reading this will put at least 2 of us in the same boat. Anyway I am tired and need to get some sleep, I’ll think on it and be back later - tomorrow not 3 months from now.