Monday, March 4, 2013

Dear Friends,

Chuck has spent the last week or so with his long-time Madison friend, Mike Kamarck, at Mike's house in Philadelphia, hereafter to be known as the Kamarck Spa and for Rock and Roll Journalists.  There, the Kamarcks fed him delicious meals, allowed him leisurely naps, and encouraged him to play his 12-string guitar.  Mid-week, Chuck was the recipient of a new parlor guiltar sent him by another Madison friend, Steve Sanborn.  Steve Sanborn, Chuck has assured me, is not related to the famous sax player David Sanborn, but instead is a member of the Schmoes, Chuck's band. (This Sanborn is also a Ph.D agronomist).  Chuck is the only member of the Schmoes who is a New Yorker; the rest of the band lives in Madison. 

And if anyone is wondering what a parlor guitar is, as I was, here is Chuck's explanation sent to me via email:  "A parlor guitar is an acoustic that was designed for women. It has a smaller body and neck and proved to be an unexpected hit among delta blues men, because they were easy to play and cheap in the Sears catalogue...It was an early triumph of non sexist marketing, or at least non-sexist buying. Those delta guys didn't care if they were playing something aimed at women. They just wanted something playable, and those kind of guitars remain very playable."

On Friday night, David Lindorff, a 1975 J-school classmate of Chuck's, lefty blogger (see "This Can't Be Happening") and fellow guitarist came over to jam with Chuck.  On Saturday night, Chuck went to a local club to catch a set by a new friend who was performing. The new friend happened to be the driver of the town car that Mike hired to bring Chuck from New York to Philadelphia.

After approximately ten days at the Kamarck Spa and Resort for Rock and Roll Journalists, Chuck had, according to Mike, accomplished the following
 
a) 20 minutes of dog walking, multiple naps and 3 home cooked meals per day

b) Intensive guitar playing including one evening concert with the Lindorff's

c) Special guest of Allen Reynolds at an evening concert of the Allen Reynold's Band at the Bridgeport Rib House.  (Allen Reynolds must be Chuck's new friend.)

d) Made a significant dent in the Warner Bros Top Fifty Movies collection.

All good things must come to an end, however, and so Chuck is coming back to New York on Tuesday to have the nine or so inches of stitches removed from his scalp (I reiterate here that we should all look as handsome as Chuck continues to look after such an ordeal) and meet with his brain surgeon. On Wednesday, he will have a consultation with a radiation specialist at New York Presbyterian; she's so good she is credited with figuring out how to radiate men with prostate cancer while keeping their, ahem, sexual function, intact.  (She also knows a lot about treating gliomas.)  Chuck is soon to be launched on the second-phase of his treatment--radiation--an especially important therapy for gliomas.  There will be likely more to report after Wednesday.  Stay tuned. 

Several generous and thoughtful people have made a contribution to the Charles M. Young Fund.  The money, thus far, will go a long way toward covering Chuck's living expenses and will also help with medical expenses.  Huge thanks to those wonderful people who have contributed.

The Charles M. Young Fund remains open for contributions, large, middling and small. 

If anyone knows of anyone who should be added to our email list, please let us know their addresses and we will add them to our Friends of Chuck email collection. 

Thanks to everyone for their continued interest and concern.  We recommend that you save a link to this blog (Chuck M. Young.blogspot.com), so you can check back for updates.

Yrs,
Hillary Johnson

PS:  Will the skilled photographer who took the marvelous photo of Chuck (above) please come forward and claim copyright (and forgive me for violating it?) 





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