GFMPH Fall Gathering of Healingwell guys

I, too, will be there. Unless I am at a funeral. Which, sadly, is possible. But the funeral won't be mine so it is mostly a scheduling issue. Hope to see some of you there.

Planning on showing up on Friday and leaving Monday morning . Plans are to go to Niagra Falls afterwards for a day or two before driving back to Philly.
Cmetalman&Wife

Newton,

Canucks? Sure. We're that tolerant after all.

GFMPH NY is held within an hour's drive of Rocester, NY. If you email me I can hook you up with the guy who can give you the actual location. There are usually group rates negotiated with a nearby hotel, as well as quite a bit of RV parking at the venue and one tent (on which I have dibbs).

Guys, unfortunately we won't be able to attend. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I'm in the middle of a major shift in my employment situation. I'll write more about it soon. Fundamentally, my current job will cease to exist on Monday, Oct 3, and I'm hoping to have a new position in hand to start later in October. Being in Rochester that weekend just isn't going to happen.

I'll be missing this one but hope to catch up again on one of the next ones. I won't be that young fortysomething next time - yep, crossing that big five oh in a month. Will be thinking of you there in NY - hope it's a blast as usual.

What's a GFMPH event? A lot of fun, mainly! I'm excited to see everyone again. There isn't a group you'll ever encounter that can better empathize with what we're all going through here. We know each other through the common bond of having this disease, or as caregivers for those with it, but that's not at all what the weekend is really about!

Here's a write-up of what happened at a prior gathering. You'll see there was a lot going on. If you haven't been to one of these gatherings, please consider attending. You'll make some possibly life-long friends there!

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=3208485

And the Exact Dates are..?

What are the dates and locations?

John16,

I think the official dates are Thursday, Sept 29 through Sunday, Oct 2nd but people tend to arrive and/or leave earlier or later than that. There is an "apple festival" in a nearby small town that is Saturday and Sunday. Saturday tends to be a busy day at the gatherings so people who want a bit of extra time at the apple fest might want to allow a bit of extra time Sunday afternoon.

The exact location -- beyond "within an hour drive of Rocester, NY" -- is something we prefer to share via email and we don't post it on the forum. Some of the GFMPH participants prefer to maintain a degree of anonymity and the noise of the circling black helicopters tends to be annoying while we are sitting around the fire.

I think Cajun Jeff (the OP on this thread) is keeping a loose count of expected attendees so you might email him to get the actual (secret) street address. Or you can email me and I will forward the request for you.

Jonathon, thanks. I still don't know what Mrs Newt will think about it yet, but I figure it's a good way to spend a couple of days. Let's see what she thinks.... :D It's not too far from Toronto.

Newton451 said...
Jonathon, thanks. I still don't know what Mrs Newt will think about it yet, but I figure it's a good way to spend a couple of days. Let's see what she thinks.... :D It's not too far from Toronto.

We went through the same thought process 4 years ago when Karen and I attended our first GFMPH Rochester. I knew the board culture and had no concerns other than whether it would be a big clique and Karen would feel out of place.

That fear proved unfounded the minute we got there. Everybody welcomed both of us like we had known them all our lives. She won't have to hang by your side the whole time nor you hers as couples interact continuously.

We rarely discuss prostate cancer except at the business meeting. It as not always been the case but for several recent GFMPH's, the women have their caregivers support meeting the same time the men are meeting around the fire pit.

BTW, don't plan on losing any weight that weekend either. We eat and drink well every day. I did OK holding my over weight steady while on Lupron except for GFMPH week.

The host couple has about 10 acres for us to recreate with woods, deer etc., and several hook ups for those who drive big RV's, so not a case of being over crowded either.. He is an engineer armed with as Halbert alludes an apple gun, mini hot air balloons, drones etc for our entertainment.

We get a group discount tax-free at a nearby comfy hotel that allocates the fourth floor for our group.

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Newton451 said...
Jonathon, thanks. I still don't know what Mrs Newt will think about it yet, but I figure it's a good way to spend a couple of days. Let's see what she thinks.... :D It's not too far from Toronto.

Mrs. Newt will love it. The women are some of the coolest people there and they always have a good time. She'll find everyone to be very warm and welcoming, I promise.