truecrimedetective32

[truecrimedetective32]

Meow meet Muffin

James here. I'll let you guess which one. Muffin asked me to introduce her to you. Most people can't understand her, so I'll translate. Muffin used to be an abandoned, sad kitty that didn't like people much. The one high point in her day was sitting outside the back door of the good-smell place near the park where she chased chipmunks and the big birds. (she'd sit outside the back door of Yumz near Nova Park where she chased chipmunks and pigeons) But one day she wasn't quite fast enough and the human that owned the smell-good place saw her. Muffin wanted to run, but for some reason she didn't. The lady came back with a saucer of REAL cream! Muffin finished it off in a flash and meowed at the lady. The lady knelt down and talked softly to Muffin, who decided maybe this person was different from her old people that treated her bad. She took a chance and slowly walked up to her. The lady reached out and scratched her ears. Muffin loves having her ears scratched! When the lady went back inside, Muffin tried to follow her inside, and the lady didn't try to stop her. The room she went into first made her sneeze, so she went into another room. This one didn't make her sneeze, and it was warm and smelled good. Before she knew it, she was curled up in a corner out of the way, fast asleep. She hoped the lady let her stay for a while. And of course, she did. Muffin is a fixture at Yumz, and is an awesome friend once she gets to know you.

[truecrimedetective32]

You Made It!

And now you're wondering what you've gotten yourself into. Well, that depends on what you find most entertaining. But before we get into that, let me introduce myself. I'm the other James (trust me, it'll make sense soon) and I'm the writer behind the characters you'll be meeting soon.

I live near Worcester, Massachusetts, I'm 61 years old, and I am disabled from a bout with HPV Head and Neck cancer. I went through chemotherapy and radiation therapy which resulted in me needing most of my mouth rebuilt - lower jaw, tongue and a massive number of wiped-out lymph nodes. After 10 1/2 hours I started my new journey.

I did podcasts for a while before my diagnosis. I forgot to mention during my surgery they put in a feeding tube and a tracheostomy. It's not so easy to do podcasts with a tracheostomy. So I went back to writing, something I enjoyed when I was much younger. Then it hit me - If I'm writing books and short stories, why not write scripts for my characters and let them be read with an AI voice? So that's coming soon. I will not give in!

So that's a little about me. James the other me is up next to share his (well, kinda OUR) story. Welcome to our Worcester!

[truecrimedetective32]

Hello friends, I'm James (one of two)

Hello, and thank you for stopping by. My name is James. Just James. Long story. Not today. But I can give you some of it for now.

I'm actually one of two people named James in this story. The other is the guy at the keyboard that tells me and the rest of us what to say and do. He's a head and neck cancer survivor (I am too, but it was a lot harder on him). But I'll let him tell his story when he's ready.

I used to have it all- an awesome career, a beautiful wife, two awesome kids and I was literally looking for someone to build the white picket fence. I went to see my long-time doctor, Dr. Patel, to follow up on some labs he ordered. And as soon as he closed the door behind him and started to speak, It all started to fall apart.

Cancer. Head and neck cancer. Viral head and neck cancer. I didn't know there was such a thing. HPV cancer. I left his office with my head down, my steps slow, my thoughts racing. How could this happen to me? I eat healthy, I'm in the gym 4 days a week, I jog 5 miles a day - how do I have cancer?

I don't remember the drive home. I remember the look in my wife's eyes when I told her. I remember the divorce papers a week later. She didn't want spousal support or child support. She got the house, her car - and the kids. No visitation until I showed her why my high-priced attorney is high-priced. Now I get them every other weekend.

A few weeks later, the city of Worcester decided they no longer had a need for their highly decorated and most successful detective anymore. They offered me a desk job, but I'm just not that kind of cop, I guess. I lasted three weeks.

One thing worked in my favor - I had made some pretty smart investments, and with my severance package and pension, I was far from broke. I found an amazing 3-bedroom 2 bath apartment on Plantation Street overlooking Nova Park, paid a years' rent and furnished in a style my ex-wife would have hated, and was on to my new life in about a week. Just one problem. Retirement is boring, especially when you're used to putting your butt on the line every day. So I decided if I couldn't be a detective, I could tell people about what it's like to be one. So I blitzed Amazon for computer, audio and video equipment and started my podcast, Crime and Consequences.

And that's where I'll leave it for now. Next time we get together, I'll introduce you to some of my friends. But I'll warn you in advance, some of my friends are a little... unusual.