The first Keytruda infusion went okay with one exception. The IV nurse, Nancy, got a little nervous. After installing the IV, she quickly pulled it out, bandaged me, and then ran out of the room …
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Ramona Jan
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3/26/24
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Today is the first official day of spring, even though it seems we’ve been having spring all winter. Who can complain? Certainly, not me! Seeing that it is spring, I thought to do something …
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Ramona Jan
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3/19/24
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My friend hides her garlic and other valuables in the back seat of her car hoping that no one will break in and steal them. It’s like hiding your valuables in your shoe at the beach. Well, not …
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Ramona Jan
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3/12/24
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“Do you hear that noise?” asks my husband as we drive along the Robert Casey Highway, him pointing toward the car’s hood as if giving me a clue.
“No,” I say in all …
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Ramona Jan
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3/5/24
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It was March ‘76 and my new friend Patti and I were going to see a band whose leader, Clifford Carter, Patti knew from college, The University of Miami’s Music School. Thanks to Patti, …
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Ramona Jan
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2/27/24
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Though I could only type twenty-eight words per minute, my mother had the bright idea to send me to secretarial school. I attended a Katharine Gibbs-like school right up the street from where we …
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Ramona Jan
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2/20/24
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Formed in ‘71, the band New York Dolls were forerunners of the punk scene along with T. Rex, the Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop and the Stooges. By ‘74, the Dolls had released two …
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Ramona Jan
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2/13/24
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Jag is short for Jaguar of which there are two kinds, cats and cars. The ‘cat’ was Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The car, his collectable E-type lime green Jaguar. Truth: Driving …
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Ramona Jan
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2/6/24
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Wintertime…a time to dream of warmer days. Some of us can afford to buy those warmer days by jetting to the South of France. I only wish I could. However, most of us hunker down in our snow …
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2/5/24
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If you’re from the area, you may remember my store Vintage Bling. It started out as a vintage plumbing store without a name. I had footed tubs, pedestal sinks, radiators and all kinds of pipes …
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Ramona Jan
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1/26/24
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There once was a delivery boy named Neil who worked at a small health food store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where I used to live. The best thing about this store, the name of which …
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Ramona Jan
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1/16/24
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Jett’s a navy man. I can tell by the T-shirts he wears; each says something about the navy, mostly in logo form, and indeed when asked he confirms he’s a veteran. But I don’t ask …
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Ramona Jan
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1/9/24
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I’ve been to Garnet Health
I’ve been to Harris
I stayed at CMC
that’s down in Scranton
I’ve seen the walls of Wayne
I go by ambulance
I’ve …
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Ramona Jan
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12/26/23
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September 10th 1975: I had just moved into the Hotel Bretton Hall on the corner of Broadway and West 86th Street. It was a dangerous time for the Upper West Side of Manhattan with record high crime …
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Ramona Jan
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12/19/23
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I often shop at the Callicoon Pantry located within the Callicoon Marketplace on Main Street right next to the post office. This marketplace features many different and diverse vendors who never fail …
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Ramona Jan
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12/5/23
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I needed a pair of waterproof sneakers, not booties that strangle the ankle. I’ve always had narrow, bony ankles and anything that encircles them, sometimes even too-tight socks bother me. So …
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Ramona Jan
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11/28/23
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Continued from last week. One more scam email and my response. No punctuation or grammar has been altered on the part of the letter writer. My comments are in parenthesis and my response at the very …
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Ramona Jan
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11/21/23
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We all get obviously suspicious emails either in our inboxes or spam folder. Without giving any of my personal information, I decided to have some fun and respond to a few of them. Below are the …
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11/14/23
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These days, I mainly juggle medical appointments and healthcare practices, but I also have to fit in work (writing my column), family, some social commitments, and my personal passions of music, …
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Ramona Jan
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11/7/23
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Not too long ago a reader from Smallwood (you know who you are) wrote me and in his letter suggested that I might just be living in the “Paris of the Catskills.” Perhaps he was referring …
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Ramona Jan
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10/31/23
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Back in ’67, when I was in the fifth grade, a classmate of mine, Colleen, came to school with frosted hair, which in today’s lingo means blonde highlights.
Colleen’s mom …
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Ramona Jan
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10/24/23
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I broke up with sugar years ago…or so I thought. You know how it goes with an old flame. You hate them when it’s almost over and then when it is, you only remember the good parts. Like …
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By Ramona Jan
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10/17/23
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I grew up between two brothers, Danny and Andrew. For the longest time, we were equals in every way. We built forts together, made go-carts, jumped in the leaves, threw snowballs at each other, …
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Ramona Jan
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10/10/23
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It was 1984 and Venus Fly Trap (Soozie Tyrell, myself and Lisa Lowell) had just arrived back in NYC from the streets of France, England and Italy where we mesmerized crowds with our incessant …
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Ramona Jan
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10/3/23
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How to form a rock band in two easy steps…based on true stories
1. Recruit friends
2. Procure a great band name
Note: I didn’t mention learning to play an instrument. …
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Ramona Jan
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9/26/23
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