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Well, if all goes well, I will be cancer free two weeks from today (June 4th). My surgery is all scheduled.

Well, no surprise here...Ray and his staff put on another fantastic Dukes event. Of course this one was a little different. I arrived at 6:00 and the first person I bumped into was my favorite stuntman, Mike. We talked outside the building for awhile, catching up on life in general. It was good to see him again after that scare he gave me at the last stunt show. But tonight wasn't a stunt show so it was nice to know I didn't have to worry about any of my friends getting scuffed up. It was the premier of Ray's movie so the only danger was slipping on spilled popcorn. I walked into the massive ballroom amazed at it's size. Scattered in different places was the General Lee, Daisy's Jeep, and two patrol cars, (Rosco's and Big Ed's). The Bandit and KITT were also there. It was $15 to get in (it would have been cheaper if I would have bought it in advance). I got my hand stamped and immediately went over to check out the General. Byron Cherry was nearby so I waited for the people who were talking to him to leave and went over. I had met him in 2014 and he behaved the same this time. He is super friendly, talkative and high energy. Like Enos (who was at Ray's stunt show last year) he is also a southern gentleman....born in Atlanta....and is very easy to talk to. You immediately feel relaxed around him. I asked a lot of questions, like what it was like when he first found out he was going to be a Duke boy, if he ever witnessed any stunts (he watched 6), what were his other hobbies and interests, his friendships with cast members other acting jobs, etc etc. Thankfully I got the time with him I was hoping for. Before the movie I chatted with other stunt show folks and fans and made some new friends along the way. Then, the main event. Byron spoke to the crowd and the movie began. It is called "Stuntlife, the Wild Ride". It is the story of Ray and the stunt crew and his family. It was made by Highway Pictures and directed by Aj Satterfield. Only one word is needed to sum it up..."WOW!....I'll use more though. It's an hour and a half long and was so professionally made it is no different than any high quality made movie you'd see in a theater. I'll skip the details of how well made it was but it was truly perfect in every way. Highway Pictures is one class act. Sonny Shroyer, Tom Wopat and Byron also make appearances in it. I think my favorite part was Ray showing and describing each of his 22 General Lee jumps, and adding if he was hurt and where. I think they all were shown from more than one camera angle...some from several angles. Every time he said he wasn't hurt on a particular one I felt a sigh of relief. I've only seen a few so it was really cool to have a collection of them in order. (I bought the DVD before I left). Then there was the stunts of the other drivers. Some of them were pretty detailed and others were just quick scenes. The music that went with all the jumps and stunts was amazing. Everybody who was anybody with the stunt show was interviewed with the corresponding stunt and others behind the scenes got their well deserved moment or moments of fame....and there were many. The issue of safety was also discussed by several show members. The tribute Ray gave to his father was a tearjerker. When a man, like Ray who is larger than life, gets emotional on the big screen everybody in the place does too, especially me, since his dad was my favorite....no surprise there...he played Uncle Jesse, my favorite. Thankfully I spent a lot of time before and after the show talking to Dean, the new guy who plays Uncle Jesse. He's not new to Ray though. They've known each other a long time. In fact we talked so long most everybody had left and the crew members were driving the vehicles out. Then, as I walked to my car I bumped into Ray securing Daisy's Jeep onto the trailer and thanked him for all he's done. If ever there was a true Duke boy it's Ray Kohn. Keep an eye on their website but I think he is planning something new....a Bandit jump... in south-central Pennsylvania on June 22. Next will likely be a Dukes event in August in Virginia. In the meantime if you live too far away I highly recommend you go to his website and buy "Stuntlife." You have my promise you will not be disappointed. I laughed. I cried. I yelled YEEHAWW a lot. You will too.

Sorry, but something like this popped into my head when I read your post

More good news! The surgeons are opting for the less invasive surgery. The resection for that area is risky and my situation doesn't warrant that kind of risk. They're confident they can get all the cancer with an endoscopic surgery. Just waiting for the surgeon's office to call and schedule the surgery now.

The party at the Boar's Nest to celebrate the good news is going to be the biggest Hazzard County has ever seen!

We're all in this with you and we're countin 'down with you baby! Boar's Nest here we come!

OH, YEA BAYYYBEH!!

*BIG SMILE*

That's not good news, that's GREAT news.

Yes, and they wave them at their shows. They also have them on the clothes they sell. They believe that it stands for southern pride and is a symbol of the greatest show ever to be on a television screen. I wear my Northeast Ohio Dukes shirt in public up here and it has a Rebel flag on it and I have never had any problems. The General Lee is the most famous car in the world and any reasonable person understands that fans of the show don't like it because they're racist. They like it because it's (I think I already mentioned this) the greatest show ever to be on a television screen.

I'm off to Hazzard County and couldn't be more excited. I hope I get the chance to talk to Coy for more than a few minutes. I'll have a full report tonight when I get home late. I am so appeciative of folks like Meadowmufn and Ray Kohn who love the Dukes enough to put so much time into it. Ray and his stuntman are amazing. Not only do they spend a lot of time keeping the Dukes legacy alive but they risk serious bodily harm doing so. Now that's dedication!

Always awesome to hear more good news! Hopefully the surgery will be soon. The quicker Doc Apelby has you up and running....the quicker we can get the Boar's Nest party started.

Thanks MM. I should have asked your permission first but I suspect you know me well enough by now that I won't say anything but good things about this place (ignoring all those times back in the old days that you threw me in the Hazzard County Jail.)

Ooh! Please do! That'd be great to have HazzardNet represented there. It's been a long time since I've been well enough to get out to a Dukes event.

Thanks Hoss. If anybody has any questions for the Q@A session please let me know. I'll introduce myself as a representative of the HazzardNet to try to recruit new members. (a lot of the people there will already recognize me anyways)

rain ( as in Rainman)....definitely a good response, definitely

And with me drinking buttermilk and everybody else drinking Hobie's finest...I'll be the only one who remembers it.

We get pileated woodpeckers in our backyard fairly often. We can hear when they land on the suet feeder. CLANG! LOL. We also get downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, and lots and lots of flickers. I often get woken up to flickers drumming on our siding, which is fiber-cement for that very reason....

Sending good thoughts and prayers Meadowmuffin.

The surgeon's nurse called today to set up an office visit for next Monday to discuss the surgery. Can't wait until this is all over with!

If anybody in the parade had a strong (or even weak) tie to the Dukes I would have made the effort to find out about autographs. The next time I go down I want to go to Cooter's. I just found out that it is only an hour away from my daughter.

Kyle still does the charity ride. He kicked off this year's ride right here near my town on Friday. It was in all the local papers.

From the sound of it, even if he turns out to be just HALF as good as he sounds....you'll just WALK through all this !! You'll wake up one morning and think you dreamed it! And YES!!...I have some of my finest shine, saved for you and all of us in Hazzard, to celebrate when you're home! ( Unless you want to break into it a little early....you never waste a sip....!! )

No I didn't meet him but I have exciting news for you Garrett. I went to my daughter's down in Winchester Virginia where they have a big apple blossom parade every year. Jeff Burton was one of the celebrities in the parade. I was close..right on the sidewalk but didn't get to talk to him. He was riding on the top of the back seat of a convertible. Imagine that...he wasn't even driving. The grand marshall was supermodel Ella McPherson. Also in the parade was Heisman trophy winner Desmond Howard and Billy Graham's daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter. But here it is Garrett...also in the parade was....drum roll....Mike Singletary of the World Champion Chicago Bears from 1985. I was thinking of you. A NASCAR legend and a Bears legend in one parade. You would loved it!

There were even at least 2 reviews that said "he saved my life!", so that's a pretty great testimonial.

Good point Hobie. This surgeon sounds even better than Doc Abelby and Doc Petticort. And if it helps any Hobie can send some of his finest and I could ship off some of Jesse and Swamp Molly's wild medicinal herbs. It's spring time so they're popping up all over around here. I'm packing up some Mayapple, Coltsfoot, plantain and marsh marigold right now. This stuff works as good as Grannie's. Of course her and Jed and Jethro and Ellie Mae are out there in Beverly Hills now and it doesn't grow there so they can't help you any.

Thanks. I really appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. It really boosts my spirits. Quick little update. My oncologist called today. He sent my scan results to a surgeon and I should be meeting with the surgeon soon. I looked the surgeon up on the internet, 5 stars everywhere I look, so that inspires a lot of confidence. I'm in good hands. Spirits are high, though right now I'm not feeling so great. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help.

AOL chat! Those were the days! That was such a good time for the DOH fandom. It's amazing how many people have come to me and offered an ear to listen and answer questions since I have gone public with my diagnosis. And, surprisingly, they're all people with GI cancers like I have (though not the exact same type of cancer). I think I'm good for now, but thank you for the offer and if I have questions or need to talk, you'll hear from me!

As Rosco would say,

My limited vocabulary does not allow me to probably say the right thing. But I will say this. I hope you have a good recovery and get as close to your former self as is possible. I've got family who had cancer as well. It is very tough for them 5 years.

Hello, My name's Laurent, I come from South of France, I'm 42... I'm Fire Safety and, Security Officer in France (in France we can have both functions, they are two different degrees, but complementary) I love Dukes of Hazzard since childhood... I watch the series everytimes in ring... My favorite character is Rosco P.Coltrane and Boss Hogg... They are so scammers, thieves and liars and especially crazy... My favorite car is the Rosco patrol car (Dodge Monaco and the Plymouth Fury).

That's 'cause Hobie's is always sippin' his finest. (he never wastes a sip) and I'm always sharing some of that buttermilk with Enos and everybody else who likes it. Trouble is....me and 'ol Enos ain't found anyone else who likes it.

I'd love to come down sometime but I don't know about the pretty girl part. My wife might let me ride on the back of Miz Tisdale's dirt bike but that might be the best I'll be able to do....that is if Miz Emma will allow it. I suspect it might be against postal regulations. Plus Uncle Jesse might get jealous. He acts like he doesn't like her but I know he does.

Don't ask me why it's not everybody's favorite show. I guess most people just ain't as smart as us Hazzard folks.

It's so good to have you as part of the HazzardNet family. Thanks for joining us wotan. We hope you stay around a long time!

Bonjour, Laurent. Bienvenue à Hazzardnet. It's great to have another international member around the place. Myself and Roth are both in Northern Europe as well.

I like to get creative

I think we may have discussed this before, but there are indeed a large number of expressions and idioms in the English language that involve the word "Dutch". I found a list on a Dutch website (that's not one of the phrases, and the site is in English). The article says that most of these terms came into use in the 17th century when there were many conflicts between England and the Netherlands, and the Netherlands lost the Dutch colony which later became New York. As They Might Be Giants once sang, "Even old New York was once New Amsterdam." Some popular examples are: a Dutch auction, Dutch courage, talking double Dutch and to go Dutch (a Dutch treat).

I'm just hoping he moves to Hollywood and gets Dukes restarted. John Schneider turns 59 in a couple weeks so maybe he could be Uncle Bo. It's hard to believe Denver was 59 in 1979. He looked so much older than John does now.

Is it just me that pictures Cassandra Peterson when they see the name Elvira? It must be my age .

Thanks Hoss! I've said it a million times...you're awesome!

I've just watched the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Well done to the Netherlands - their first win since 1975. Were you watching, Roth? On the downside, the United Kingdom came last and Ireland didn't even make the final.