"Pole Dancing" Recap

When I first decided to perform "Pole Dancing" in public, I was full of the kind of swaggering bravado sometimes found among the "seriuosly ill."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" my husband queried.

"Nope, never done it," I answered.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he further questioned.

"Yep, I'm sure about it," I assured him.

"It's all about taking personal risks," I boasted. "That's the upside of having a serious illness."

But as the day of "IWOSC Reads Its Own" came closer, the air started to seep out of my puffed up self assuredness.

Yesterday, I had a stomach full of out-of-control butterflies. Today, the creatures were practically choking me. "I can't do this," I cried to George and Cynthia. "If you're sick, you don't have to," they assured me. After all, I was on the record with flu-like symptoms last week and could use the oldest excuse in the book ("I have a tummy ache") to get out of my commitment. And if that didn't work, I could always pull out the ol' cancer card.

On the drive to Dutton's, I still wasn't sure if I was able to follow through. I fretted that my performance would bring shame upon myself, my family and the entire IWOSC organization. (That's the Japanese in me coming out.)

In the end, I forced those butterflies to fly in formation and went on "stage" at the courtyard at Dutton's. Among the crowd were 22 of my Cancer Banter buddies. 17 of us crossed the street to the Early World Cafe for an early dinner after the show.

To my delight, the crowd laughed and cried in all the right places. Everyone said that the pole, borrowed from the Convalescent Aid Society of Pasadena (thanks, Carolyn and Bruce) added a lot, but I forgot to pack my red feather boa.

Paula had suggested that I videotape the reading, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't get my act together to make that happen.

I've been asked to read at the upcoming West Hollywood Book Festival on September 30, and, if I'm not at Hotel Hope having a stem cell transplant, I'll once again pull out the pole (and the boa) for another round of public pole dancing.