Recently I wrote of the healing energy of laughter in relation to my chemotherapy treatment. So here I am, laughing my head off with my friend Paul Sihon on the recording of Ouiee Ouiee We're Happy, a song I wrote thirty-two years ago while living inside the trunk of a gigantic Redwood tree in Marin County, California. We recorded it on the Island of Okinawa in 2005.

We've just come home from my second chemotherapy session, and I was feeling physically and mentally stressed. The first thing I did was get the fire going. Then I had hot Vitamin C drinks, warmed up, switched on the computer, and have since then been laughing my head off watching videos of Michael Parkinson interviewing Billy Connelly, his wife Pamela Stevenson, David Attenborough, and Tom Cruise. My sore throat and sore stomach are gone and my stress is fading to a dista

Glad To Be Alive', is one of four songs composed for the Kingfisher and The Tiki, a story I wrote on the island of Kauai in 1995 that speaks of a greedy bird that eats a magical fish. The story explains how the Marine Environment, from the forested mountains to the coral reefs, is interconnected through a harmonious cycle of life.

As I explained in my previous post, I was very impressed by the questions asked during my meeting with the social assistant and psychologist following my first chemotherapy session. 'Will you have help when you get home, like family, or a social, or religious community?' The social assistant asked, recognizing that I am no spring chicken and Konomi is now considered legally blind. 'We have very good friends, a lot younger than us,' I said, 'They often help.'

Ten days ago, I discovered that I need chemotherapy as the benign tumour that was recently removed with a section of my colon was not so benign after all and had metastasized (spread). It's not something that's going to polish me off overnight, but it is what it is and something I have to deal with.

In 2019 the Guardian Newspaper featured the story of how Konomi and I met in Japan, got married on the Island of Okinawa, and ended up...