I Moved! Come Visit benjaminrubenstein.com
Hello readers, I expect this will be my last post on this blog because I now have a big bad website with a blogplus all kinds of other features. Come stop by when you get a chance atbenjaminrubenstein.com. Thanks for visiting my site over the years, and don't worry I'm not going too far! See you soon at my new website.CheersBenjamin (Source: cancerslayerblog)
Source: cancerslayerblog - October 8, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: blogs
My Benjamin Hartman Story
“I need intravenous Beefsteak,” I texted my forever-Beefsteak date Ben Hartman, who others called Benjie or Bean or sometimes Boozey, and who I called Kryptonite or sometimes Sushi Ben. “See you there at 6:30,” he texted back. Since meeting in 2014, we each accommodated the other when it came to Beefsteak — a fast-casual restaurant near George Washington University that served paleo-friendly fare before paleo was cool and offered outdoor seating long before covid-19. My gcalendar archive shows that we made seven Beefsteak dates in advance, though that’s a fraction of our total as most stemmed fro m mi...
Source: cancerslayerblog - December 5, 2020 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: death life lessons Source Type: blogs
My Tribute to Kobe Bryant
I obsessed overfinding statistics to demonstrate that Kobe Bryant played basketball better than anyone not named Michael Jordan; I obsessed over labeling him “the best basketball player on the planet.” Kobe inspired me more than most others inspired me.Why Kobe? Actually, I can no longer remember the reason I adored him. It ’s like how you remember great speeches for how they made you feel as opposed to their words. I don’t know why I loved the dude; I just know watching and thinking about Kobe made me feel ambitious and amazed.Now, I don ’t care about labels or comparing people. Winning isn’t that important to...
Source: cancerslayerblog - January 27, 2020 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: sports Source Type: blogs
Sports Are More Than Just Sports
As published inElephants and TeaWhen my new girlfriend Anie said, “Why are sports important to you?” I thought, that’s like asking why I value wearing socks. Dressing each morning, like watching (and following, discussing, and planning my life around) sports, is just something humans have done since the advent of knitting. When Anie asked me this in March, d ays before the University of Virginia men’s basketball team began its run to the national championship, I had no answer.“I like the Capitals,” Anie continued, though she needn’t have even said more. I understood: Anie, too, watched sports. But only when n...
Source: cancerslayerblog - January 16, 2020 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: sports Source Type: blogs
Words by ruBENstein Newsletter - Fall 2019
I published the sixth edition of my newsletter,Words by ruBENstein. Check it check it check it orsubscribe to it!In this newsletter, I share my two most recent stories plus an oldie but goodie, my most popular social media post, and one story and life lesson from one of writing's greats. (Source: cancerslayerblog)
Source: cancerslayerblog - October 1, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: newsletter Source Type: blogs
The Hot Summer of Benjy
As published inTeen Cancer America's Calling Out CancerMy older brother JD burst through the front door at 11 p.m. carrying three cardboard boxes, the exterior shells to heaven on my tongue. He said the large one held a 14-inch Domino ’s Hawaiian pizza, and the elongated ones held cheesy bread and hot wings.Perfect timing. I ’d tired of watching fireflies and playingDonkey Kong 64 on this summer night in 2000, between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I ’d even felt ready for bed, but stayed up extra minute after extra minute in hopes my delivery-driver brother would make my wish come true.Late-night pizz...
Source: cancerslayerblog - August 20, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: family food Source Type: blogs
Getting Beyond the Blah
As published inGatherDC“What would constitute a perfect day for you?”That ’s the question I pulled from the mason jar holding 86 such questions, each written on a mini sticky note and then folded over. I named my creation Beyond the Blah Jar.My new girlfriend Anie had to answer per the rules of Beyond the Blah Jar. She was sitting next to me on the couch, on the middle cushion. We were tired, approaching the end of our March weekend together, but she didn ’t hesitate responding. “Today!”Today, a day she ’d spent entirely in my presence, was my new girlfriend’s perfect day? I forced my lips to remain within ...
Source: cancerslayerblog - July 18, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: family women Source Type: blogs
(Maybe) I Got Bit by a Snake
I saw my hand by the morning light streaming through my blinds and felt like I was looking at something that wasn ’t a part of me. A crimson, half-inch lesion rose above the right side of my right hand like Mary’s Rock. Swelling puffed up the skin like a balloon, leaving me with one apparent knuckle. I flipped my arm over. Red streaks crawled up it like fingers stretching to grasp my heart.My instinct was to call my dermatologist. “Good morning, I’d like to schedule an appointment.”“If this is for body sculpting, I’ll transfer you to that receptionist.”Nope. I rapid-fired my problem: yesterday afternoon, I ...
Source: cancerslayerblog - June 7, 2019 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: a day in my life animals death Source Type: blogs
