end of the semester

I guess this is a sign of how well I am doing. Today is the last day of classes and I only missed two days all semester. The only real problems I had was with the course management system. I thought it would make my life easier if I put more of the class on-line. unfortunately it didn't turn out that way, in fact it was the opposite. the on-line material was more difficult for me I have learned my lesson and will resort to the more traditional methods next semester.

Gary

Scan from 11/25 My oncologist said there was no sign of regrowth or regeneration. in other words he said it was very good. he did say there were somedead cells at the vey back of my occipital lobe, the very rear part of my brain. he wasn't sure what that was from but likely an effect of the chemo. I'll see him next Friday and ask more specific questions. this time Ionly spoke to hime on the phone

fr

Year anniversary party & concert

Last Saturday was the year anniversary of my surgery. some friends wanted to have a small celebration to coincide with a concert at the Oswego Music hall of one of my favorite bands, Jim's Big Ego

This is a link to the pictures of the "event" http://picasaweb.google.com/gklatsky/SurgeryAnniversaryPartyConcert111508#

if that doesn't work try
google.com/gklatsky/ and click on the party & concert album

Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks is a world famous neurologist and author. The movie Awakenings was based on one of his books. His most famous book, The Man who mistook his wife for a hat is probably one of his most famous books, a collection of stories based on case studies.
A few years ago we invited him to give a presentation at Oswego. I was asked to pick him up at the airport and drive him to campus. We ended up going out for lunch and taking a lovely drive through thecentral NY countryside spending about 3 hours talking about our mutual interests in the cognitive neuroscience of vision.

Lately have been having weird experiences in my "blind spot" every once and awhile coherent complex images will appear there. Wrote to a number of "experts about this phenomenon. Dr. Sacks wa the only person to respond. Iowas thrilled just to get a response then his assistant emailed me saying Dr. Sacks wanted to meet with me to discuss my"problem"

Gary
10/23

Sept 30 scan

The Sept 30 scan showed no evidence of the tumor.

scan

Next scan is scheduled for next week. will post the results

Gary

Back towork

Wednesday I was back in the classroom. By the end of the day, after three classes, I felt better than any time since my surgery

latest scan

I met with my oncololgist yestereday and hesaidthe last scan continued to show imrovement.

Scan

As everyone who has gone through this has told me. Today and the past few days have been incredibly distressful. I have my scan late this afternoon and I meet with my oncologist tomorrow morning to go over the results. As a result of my stress level I probably have been taking it out on my family and can't apologize to them enough.. After my last scan I was expecting bad news as i thought my physical condition was deteriorating. then my Dr said I had a dramatic improvement. This month I have been feeling great and expect good results that makes me nervous.

Had a great visit with my nephew Richard and his wife Janice. It is hard to believe that this little kid I used to babysit is now 40. I certainly have been blessed with wonderful family

Latest news 7/25/08

Just got back from Syracuse and Gary looks and feels great. He's gained weight and lost the steroid bloat. The new medication for his stomach is really doing the trick .He is going for therapy twice a week and is planning on teaching an introductory course in the fall semester. He is so much stronger then my visit in May. He walks better and doesn't tire as easily as he had. And to all this I say pooh, pooh, pooh!
His next scans are Monday and he will get results on Tuesday. Prayers and good wishes are always welcome.

Susan

Scan

As of now Monday July 14, my next scan is scheduled for July 28 and I will meet with my Oncologist onaugust 1 to review the scan. I meet with him this friday and will likely change some of those appointments.

Bobby Murcer

I was very saddened to learn of Bobby Murcer's passing yesterday. He was diagnosed with Glialblastoma in December 2006 . It is impossible to compare his outcome to mine as, on thesurface there are , many differences in our treatments. He survived 19 months afterhisdiagnosis but was put on a diferent treament regiment than I was. It sounds like he was put on an experimentalvacci ne rightafter his surgery and was never given avastine. I have an appointment with my oncologist on Friday and I'll see if he knows anything else

Update

Had myregular, pretreatment blood work Friday. Good news was that myplatlette count was back to normal. but my red blood cout was down. Tbeen feeling much better.he oncologist said not toexert myself or do anything exhausting. Other thanthat I have been feeling much better, fewer headache and stomsches but fatigue is Hader-in-l a great visit from my sister-in-law Ellen and neice Cara . Also my friends from my LI days (now living inPhiladelphia), Sherman, Joyce andtheir son Steve. these visits from friends and family certainly help with my recovery. Physical activities help some of therecovery but talking certainly does much more. The bestIfeltafter surgery was when Iwas in the classroom interacting with students.

Gary
7/7/08

finally got enough hair for a hair cut

recent scan 6- 3 2009

the best news yet...

Gary just called after seeing his oncologist and he described the change as dramatic. That was the best adjective he could come up with to describe the the alteration that has taken place.
THERE IS NO SIGN OF TUMOR.
Gary will be continuing with Avastin every other week and temador evry three weeks but the steroids will start being cut back.
It is the absolute best news we could hope for. Thank you for prayers and good wishes.

Susan

some news is good!

Heard from Gary; the hotel is great, weather wonderful and he has good days and not so good. Alex and Danielle were going off to see the ruins, a 3 hour bus ride away. Gary & Rhonda opted not to take the trip. They are back on Sat with a full report and maybe photos.

Susan

no news is good news

Haven't heard a word from Cancun so I am assuming everything is going well. Rhonda had arranged for wheelchairs at the airports and hotel just to make it easier for Gary to get around. He tires easily.
I still haven't figured out how to post photos of the "shave" but if you want to see them, email me ( boopboop@earthlink.net) and I will be happy to forward them. Just put Gary's photos as the subject and I will be able to sort them from the spam.

Susan

Big doings

Gary shaved his beard after sixteen or so years. He has a very nice face underneath all that gray fuzz. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post the before, during and after photos. He looks younger.
He will have his next Avastin infusion on Thurs. This will give him a day to recover before they take off on Sat for Cancun and week of sun, fun and a change of scenery. Gary's next scans will be after he gets back.
Gary relishes phone calls and visits. Mornings are better then afternoons and keeping visits to one to two hours are best. He enjoys going for coffee to Barnes & Noble or Panero's.


Susan

Big news

the Twenty Fifth on the Fifteenth

Everything else is put in perspective in the context of today being our 25th anniversary! No matter how sick I feel. Seeing Rhonda next to me each morning makes me realize I am the luckiest person in the world
Gary

update 5/13

I'm off to Syracuse on Thurs and look forward to a wonderful visit. We've been doing a lot of remembering and I'm bringing up a stash of old photos and looking at them should be fun. It's been a difficult week for Gary, physically and mentally but with Danielle home and Alex do in another day, that should brighten up both Gary & Rhonda spirits .

Susan

Gary writes:

The past few days have been physically quite difficult. I’ve had a series of bad headaches and stomach aches. Much of that discomfort passed when Danielle came home yesterday. Once I am able to get the headache under control I do feel much better. I still look forward to visitors but need to work the timing. I think much of this is reaction to the drugs. I do miss seeing my friends and colleagues. Please let me know if you are in the neighborhood and want to stop by. That is one of the best things to help my recovery.

This was sent to Gary by a colleague after his last lecture, May 9th.

Susan



Gary,

Thanks for inviting me to your "Last Lecture." It was a powerful experience and I was honored to be included.Your students were so engaged. I could not help but watch them and the focus that they had. I will confess to being a bit jealous as my students tend to fall asleep any time I get near "life lessons." I don't think I am as funny as you are. Anyway, I walked behind several of them after class and they were chatting about their own stories around school, how they've gotten to where they are, and where they are going next. So in case you were wondering, they were listening. And so was I.So now that school is almost over, let me know when you want to go walking. In the meantime, I have begun riding my bike. I am not very good, and, I must say the seat is downright painful at this point. I'll let you know when I get up to a few miles and am ready to take the lake path on, maybe by the time you are back from Cancun.Take care,Cynthia

I know much of what I am writing is pretty redundant to ha you already know. Trisection was going to focus on support systems. Without doubt your medical support system is most important. I have been most fortunate to start with one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. Not only based on his technical abilities but also his demeanor and our ability to connect with one another. Certainly my background in cognitive neuroscience, that I took Oliver Sacks out for lunch made a tremendous impact on him.

On a daily basis it is my family that has provided me with the support, strength, motivation, drive to keep going on each day. This is what I look \at every morning and realize I have something worth living for

I know much of what I am writing is pretty redundant to ha you already know. Trisection was going to focus on support systems. Without doubt your medical support system is most important. I have been most fortunate to start with one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. Not only based on his technical abilities but also his demeanor and our ability to connect with one another. Certainly my background in cognitive neuroscience, that I took Oliver Sacks out for lunch made a tremendous impact on him.

On a daily basis it is my family that has provided me with the support, strength, motivation, drive to keep going on each day. This is what I look \at every morning and realize I have something worth living for

support

know much of what I am writing is pretty redundant to ha you already know. Trisection was going to focus on support systems. Without doubt your medical support system is most important. I have been most fortunate to start with one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. Not only based on his technical abilities but also his demeanor and our ability to connect with one another. Certainly my background in cognitive neuroscience, that I took Oliver Sacks out for lunch made a tremendous impact on him.

On a daily basis it is my family hat has provided me with thesupport, strength, motivation,drive tokeep going oneach day. This is whqt Ilook \at every morning and realize Ihave something worth living for

Accomplishments

I suspect there are very few people who respond to a diagnosis of a terminal illness with a short prognosis any different than I am. There are two things I spend considerable time doing: Thinking about what I will not be able to eddo. My mother died at a young age, as old as I am now. And I had an uncle who died ten years younger. Ever since I got married I always thought about the parts of my life my mother never got to see. Now I think about my children’s futures. Although they are in a much better position than I was when my mother died. I still want to dance at their weddings and hold (if there are any) grand children. More importantly was the time I would spend in retirement with Rhonda. I can go on and on about the things and places I wanted to go with her. That is probably my biggest disappointment. Where do I go from here? I really don’t know. Hopefully the legacy left for my children and wife will preserve the memory of who I was. All I hope is that I am remembered as caring, loving thoughtful husband, parent, brother, and friend. The ways my wife and children respond to me lead me to believe that those hopes are valid. Also the fact that I have friendships that have lasted over 40 years tells me that my evaluation of myself is valid. I certainly am not going to list all of my positive characteristics. What I do want to do is to reflect on my accomplishments.

I certainly was not the student in high school or college that made my parent proud. Even my athletic abilities were minimal until I started paying basketball as a high school senior, but that wasn’t anything my parents were interested. I really am not sure there was anything I accomplished that they bragged about, although there were things they certainly could have.
My children are certainly at the top of my list but I certainly cannot take complete credit for that but according to Rhonda, I was the major influence on their development. I cannot accept that.
When you work at a university it is difficult to see that receiving a Ph.D. in a research discipline is a major accomplishment. I don’t recall the percentage of the population that has a Ph.D. and the percentage of people who start Ph.D. programs actually complete their dissertation
Actual accomplishments. My first “real” job was working for GE, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed Martin where I managed the team that was designing the computer interface for the next generation submarine system. On the surface this may not seem like a big deal but we brought those systems to the computer age with digital color displays. In fact the design standards and conventions we developed for that system was adopted as the Navy standard. Our work also resulted in the Navy making Human-Computer Interaction an integral component of all their designs. In addition to receiving a General Manager’s award for my work on the proposal for that project, The Navy pointed out that the HCI design was one of the significant strengths of our proposal.
I certainly cannot compare any of those accomplishments to what I have done as an educator. What stands out most is something that took place at the end of my first year back in academia. I taught a core lab course (Cognition) that was required for a psychology major. After graduation, one of the students from that class took me around to meet her entire extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. She was the first, not only to graduate from a college, but to attend college. Seeing how proud her family was of her, touched me in ways I have never been affected again.

new posts

There are a couple ofpersonal commnets I want to add related to my accomplishments. I hope todo that this after noon maybe cldean up someof somen of the typos and other garbage

right now I am partaking in a favorite activity. sitting at Panera's eating an egg souffle drinking a latte. reading theblog it is focused on my medicalcondition. There have been acouple of other events that I would like to add later today. I am continued to be overwhelmed by my friends,family, students, andcolleagues and how much they have they have congtributed to myrecovery Thanks to all of you

April 29th

First I apologize for the quality of this posting (I am still having left vi9sual field deficits About 18 months ago my colleague in our graphics design program wereorganiz9in a c9nferehcef9r our new graduate program in Human-C 0mputer Interaction The conference was to focus on the interaction between art and technology. My pr8maray responsibility was to find a keynote speaker who would focus on the Technology side. For obvious reas0ns, Randy Pausch was my first choice. For more obvious reasons he was unable to participate. At that time I came across the posting of his last lecture and realized the tremendous similarities between our lives. It wasn’t until the Primetime special with Diane Sawyer that those similarities became even more obvious. First and foremost we are both diagnosed with terminal cancer but even more important we are both living out amazing love stories that have and continue to have profound effects on our lives.
The other inspiration for me to write this is that over the past three weeks Michael Sylvester has mentioned that he will have time for three farewells. Given my diagnosis Glialblastoma Multiform IV, my decline can be quite sudden and leave me with fairly reduced cognitive abilities.
There are just a few parting remarks I wanted to make First from Randy’ Last Lecture. Don’t change your life. The bucket list is stupid. Do what you would normally do. Enjoy each day as you would have before your diagnosis. Draw strength from your family, friends, colleagues and the things that would normally have given you pleasure. The only thing we are doing different is a vacation at an all inclusive resort that is designed more for my physical recovery from my surgery and an opportunity for our grown children (20 & 23 to have an opportunity to enjoy them in that type of environment and for all of us to be pampered.
The Big picture
Like many of you I started graduate school with the goal of getting a job at an R1 school making significant scientific contributions to cognitive psychology. (I must admit I originally planned on being a clinician) While a graduate student I was introduced to Human Factors and Human Computer interaction and felt I could make a much more significant contribution in those disciplines which I did for 15 years. With the fluctuation of the economy and the defense budget and a dual career family I jumped at an opportunity at a local state University teaching job. I must admit that initially AI was not sure I made the smart decision. It wasn’t until the end of my first year when I completed teaching my cognition lab course (a requirement for the major. I had one not very remarkable but extremely hard working student who was the first member of her extended family, hot only to graduate but to attend college. After the ceremony when she brought everyone to meet me, that was one o the most moving experiences I have ever had. Every semester I have students like that. If I can impact one a year, what more can I accomplish in my life.
As a result of my illness, reduced abilities, I have been spending considerable time talking to my students about things I have not been able to accomplish with them as well as my teaching philosophy. My illness was triggered by a seizure in my office late October. One of the most rewarding things was when returned from that incident and did not yet know I had a tumor. I found one student had nominated me for the president’s award or teaching excellence. This was a student who took two classes that were electives in his major, nothing required in any of the programs I am involved with. Right now I need to evaluate what I will be capable of doing in the fall
To all of you on TIPS andPsychTeach. I can’t thank you enough for the incredible advice I received from you since I returned to the classroom in 1995. I realize my condition is quite specific but I would be happy to share my personal experiences ad I do have an extensive set of MRI scans starting with my initial diagnosis and expect the next round in4 weeks

Catching up

We had a wonderful Sedar. Danielle and Alex were here along with Rhonda's mother (who has been almost a mother to me for he past 25 years. Our niece Cara was also up from NYC and that was also a pleasure. Made us realize we should make a geater effort to have hxer visit us.

Medically I 'm having a minor set back. My platelet count is low so they will not restart the Temedor or the avastine until the levels are back up. Igo for blood tests Friday and we will see. Symptom wise nothing is really changing. a few more headaches bu certainly no worse than before.
I'm stillhaving some left visual field problems. I walked into a barrier by theWegman's pharmacy. Didn't hurtmuch more than mypride but it waas embarasssing took a bike ride withAlex andwaited tolong,itgot pretty hot so Iquit halfwaythrough which I thoughtwas a verygooddecision. problem was when I disconnectedfromthe pedalsIwent thewrongdirectionandtook a small tumble. no injuries, againbesidesmypride. both of those accidents really push tothe forefront my need to make better decisions and paybettteratention. If I amgoing to use mynew(er) road bike Iwill have to practice more with those pedals.

I'vetalked about feeling like I am onarollercoaster. It used to feel like the occilations were daily. Now it seems the ups anddowns are within eachday.

I strongly encourage anyone inasimilar situation to get a hold of last week's AB C PrimeTime withDianSawyer wheresheinter iewsRany Pauchefr onhis CarnagieMellonLast lecture. It agreaat perspective for individuals andfamilies facing a terminalillness. Hisapproachmake so muchsense. He also has a book, The LastLecture. It is a bit diffficulto getnow bu well worth it. If you want,Icanburn theDVDfor you; Again well worth it exspecially if you aredealing with a terminal inllness andhav a family. After you have watchedtheshow or read thebookIwouldlove to talke to you about it.a

With love and constant hope

Gary

opthomologist

saw the opthomologist today. no optic nerve damage although there is definite deficit in my left visual field. Iwill need new Glass, and dedicated sun glasses an to make sure I have glasses for bike riding. Otherwise everything looks ok limitations in my peripheral vision should not afffect my abiilty to dive

Bike riding

Although I have been out on quick rides around my neighborhood to check out my balance. I seem to be doing well and am ready for the next step. a more ambitious 10 mile ride mostly flat. Sound advice from the smartest person I know is to have someone ride with me. Any of you locals looking for a quick ride around Onondaga Lake or Seneca/Oneida rivers let me know. I'll evencome up to Oswego as long as the ride is not too hilly.

Thanks
Gary

Current status

Along with the start of the Avastin, my dosage of the Temedor has also increased. Last time Beagle which worked on 20 years ago. bottom line is that I am enjoying it. Once I finish the planking and can work on the deck details it will be much more enjoyable

Gary 3/30

the roller coaster.

the scans last week showed regrowth of the tumor. Not the news we wished for. The prognosis from the radiologist and oncologist was depressing and the ride began. Gary & Rhonda took the train ( from hell, it was delayed and the heat was like you know) to New York for a consult with MSKCC. They were more optomistic; there are still other drugs to try and after that there are still drugs in trial. the roller coaster continues.
So. sometime in the next week or so, Gary will be starting Avastin, he's meeting with the oncologist to get details but it appears to be an infusion every other week for eight weeks followed by scans. There are many side effects, so he will be monitored closely.
Gary may have lost this first battle, chemo/radiation, but it's a long war and still many battles to fight and new ammuntion to try.

Susan

update

My Doctor's appointment after I restarted the chemo went well. Everyone in the office was very pleased with my blood counts. Now I am in the midst of scheduling post scan appointment. I'm waiting to hear back from my oncologist and then will schedule an appointment down at MSKCC.

news

I have scans scheduled for March 17. Don't have an appointment to go over the scans scheduled yet. The only difficulty I am experiencing is fatigue and that has gotten to the point where I am getting quite frustrated by it. Chemo begins again tonight. five days on 23 days off and that will go on for a year.

Gary

MSKCC update

The oncolgists in New York looked at the scans, then had a staff meeting and looked again and the consensus is that they are inconclusive. They have suggested that the cyberknife procedure should be cancelled, to continue the chemotherapy in three weeks and have another scan in a month. So, inconclusive is better then the alternative and Gary is still ahead of the curve.

Susan

Feb 7 scans

The results were not we hoped for. Tumor appeared but at this point the MDs cannot tell if it is new growth or remaining tumor from the surgery in Nov. Scan disk was sent to MSKCC and they will speak with Dr Hodge on Mon to determine the next course. Right now cyberknife is scheduled for Weds. It is an outpatient treatment. But that may change depending on what conclusions are reached on Mon
Susan

Keeping my head warm

With the loss of hair and the typical central NY January weather my friend Cynthia was concerned about my maintaining my body temperatrure and loaned me her favorite hat. The price was posting a picture of me wearing it.

Back in the saddle

First day back teaching

Baseball hat is to keep from blinding students with the reflection from the major bald spot (or as Michael calls it, the skin farm) on the left side

Completed 30 day Radiation cycle

Early morning rides for the radiation treatments are over. Sitting in the waiting room with patients who were there by themselves I realized how fortunate I am to have my family. Particularly when I wasn't allowed to drive. Rhonda certainly was there all the time but when she had schedule problems, Alex and Danielle were there to take over without any complaints. Susan also helped out when she was visiting.

I did get a graduation gift, the mask that was used to hold my head in place while the radiation was administered

Sunday, 1/27/08

I won't have access to a computer for the next week and won't be able to document Gary's last radiation session tomorrow. It's been a long haul. The doctors are still fine tuning the rate of withdrawal from the steroids. The original cut back was too much too soon.
Gary's classes start on Weds and he will be back to his normal schedule. No more daily hospital visits.
Six weeks went by slowly and at the same time sped. The hard part is ahead - waiting; waiting to take the scans and then waiting for the results. I am optimistic. Gary is strong and I have confidence he will persevere.

Susan

Almost done...

... with radiation and last chemo is tonight. Gary has started cutting back on steroids but the radiation was upped but it's done on Monday. Three days to sleep in and then school starts and back to a regular schedule. Hooray!

Susan

Almost done...

Johnny Padres tribute picture

!/15/2008

Gary's had his meeting with the oncologist this AM and blood work continues to be fine. Right now the plan is to take off one month and then have one week of intensive chemo followed by one month off , continuing for six months to a year. The standard procedure in the US is for one year and in Europe for six months with similar results. So that will be decided after consulting with the oncologist at MSKCC. The MRI is scheduled for Feb and an appointment right after with Dr Hodge, the miracle surgeon.

Susan

Readings

Clearly I am in the more you know the better off you are camp. Anyone going through a similar (even dissimilar) situation, my advice is to gather as much technical information you can understand. This is particularly important in regard to diagnoses and treatments. The one caveat is the statistics. What gets reported are averages. These averages include people with very similar situations to you but also people who are at the extremes. For example the prognosis for glilalblastoma multiforme IV is not promising but those averages include people with multiple tumors in very critical brain locations and people who may have had surgery and the surgery did not result in a complete removal of the tumor. So my bottom line is to remember each case is individual and the statistics apply to the entire sample of people being evaluated, not an individual.
Given my background in research methodology and statistics, it was very easy for me to put those numbers in the right perspective. What I found more troubling were books I got that recounted an individual's battle. When you see them talking about their personal struggles and how they, individually, stacked up against the statistics. Probably the worst (psychologically) day I had was after reading one of those books.
The other thing that bothered me about those “individual battle” descriptions is that the battle is very different for each person. One book I read was a biography of Lance Armstrong’s cancer battle. Certainly that was remarkable. And you can’t help but admire what he went through, just to survive. Reading about that struggle, at time I felt I wasn’t working hard enough. But his cancer is very different and his treatment is very different. The internal peace I came to was realizing that given my situation, I am fighting as hard as he or anyone dealing with toxic chemo is.

The book I found most helpful was Jerome Groopman (2005). The Anatomy of Hope.
Unlike most other books that deal with hope, this is not spiritual,religious. It deals with hope based on science, medicine but certainly drawing upon what we have within our psychological make up that allows us to do so. Thanks to Mary Avarakatos for the gift of that book.

For Glialblastomas, most of the information is available through Google search. Not too many scholarly articles are available (or I haven’t found them)

Probably the best book on brain tumors that I came across was: Peter Black (2006) Living With a Brain Tumor. This is especially informative starting with symptoms.


As far as reading for enjoyment, I am almost done with Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost. New music I’ve been enjoying The Robert Plant/Allison Kraus CD and the new Levon Helm CD. I also got a compilation CD from Danielle which introduced me to some new things including Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Given I am back teaching in two weeks, it’s time to start pulling that material together

Gary

Got back last night from my visit with Gary and family and left on a high. Doctor gave the go ahead to start driving again, Excellent news. The kids want to take him to the mall or school parking lot for some practice drives. We ate and laughed and laughed and ate. Told tales from his youth and that certainly entertained Danielle and Alex. Rhonda had heard them many times before.
The treatments are past the half way point so it's downhill from here. Only side effect continues to be fatigue. The other effects are blamed on the steroids. And once they start weaning him off , they should ease up considerably. Follow up scans will be scheduled for early Feb.
He looks great and his attitude continues to be positive. The boat progresses. A little slower then he would like and a liitle more difficult then the last boat. But that was when he was younger too and probably had a little more patience.

Susan

The New Year...

... started off with a very short ( and attractive) haircut. Also very drafty without a hat but fortunately Gary has a large selection of baseball hats to choose from.
They rejoined a gym and he was able to ride for 45 minutes on the stationary bike and should be in great shape by the time the weather warms up. Around June. His plan was to bike to work.
I'm planning on spending some time in Syracuse next week and will be able to report up close and personal.

Susan