It was all going so well!

Joan and I had participated in an Open Mic at West Cork Union Hall, along with our friends Dennis, Hiroko, Andy, Nanci and the friends who came to see all of us. Afterwards, Joan and I caught some late food at one of the few all-night diners here on the Island, and then it was home to bed and some well-earned sleep. We thought.

I was watching “A Closer Look” when I felt a pain starting at my right shoulder blade and ending right under my right pectoral muscle. Hmm…must have strained it getting the guitar out of the car, I thought. A little Bio Freeze, two Tylenol and I should be good. Except, I wasn’t. The pain didn’t get worse, but it didn’t disappear. Much as I tried, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Around 5 a.m., Joan called it. “We’re going to the hospital,” she said. Because we both thought “This could be a heart attack” and there were several reasons for this. One, I’ve so far escaped having one at almost 75. Secondly, a lot has been going south for me physically this year. We just wanted to be sure.

Took an Uber up to (and eventually back from) RUMC. I know RUMC gets slammed (truthfully, like everything else on this Island), but, this experience was different and much better. We were taken in, seen and treated right away. Of course, it was 6 a.m. on a Friday, and the regular crowd hadn’t shuffled in yet. By noon,........

© The Staten Island Advance