Extracts from Chapter 17 of 'Mother Becomes Stardust'. See my other blog posts for more details about this book, which is about my late Mother's struggle with the twin effects of breast cancer and a stroke.
Chapter 17 - Chinks of Light (extract)
I would walk up to Cedar Falls with stuff like The Sex Pistols 'Pretty Vacant' on the MP4 player. It'd get me to get me pumped up as I strode towards the home. It'd feel almost like a marching song at the beginning, and prepare me for any confrontations.
Mum has another hospital appointment, on October 4th. Dad was buried 10 years ago on this date, so another thing to think about.
The writing work had been picking up again, but in the morning I get an email from a writing website informing me that they're letting most of their writers go. You couldn't make it up really. No wonder the doctor in the hospital asks if I'm okay, as I'm obviously looking stressed.
At Cedar Falls, Mum enjoys her orange juice: "Oooh. Lovely." Since her stroke, Mother seems to be more enthusiastic about things she likes, and more angry about things she doesn't.
Mum, up until her stroke, had a photographic memory. She was a big film buff, as well as having wide-ranging musical tastes. Mum would rattle off names of obscure film stars from the '40s and '50s, and name films that they were in. I remember telling her that Morrissey, whose first name is Steven, was named after B-movie actor Steve Cochran. Mozza has said that he didn't think anyone would know who Cochran was, but my Mum did.
There's still good signs re Mum's fight against the dreadful disease. I'm regularly told that the cancer that's already there can only be contained and not eradicated. I'm aware of that, but I appreciate the honesty.
I've bought a Charlie George autobiography for Vaughan, my bus driver and Arsenal fan, as a leaving present. Another driver I liked, Mick, had left in July. I tell Mum: "Reading about (former Gunners star) Charlie George. Do you remember him?" Mum: "Yes, I remember him." She actually remembered a lot of football stars from the early 1970s, especially players at Arsenal, Leeds United, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, West Ham, Spurs, and Chelsea - though she wasn't into football. Mum had a soft spot for gentleman footballers, including Bobby Moore, Bob Wilson and Frank McLintock. But Mum also liked George Best...
