For Warren Zevon: 'Enjoy every sandwich', by David Letterman & Paul Schaeffer - 2003

7 September 2003, New York City, USA

Letterman and Schaeffer refer to the 'Enjoy Every Sandwich' appearance from Zevon some months earlier, when he talked about his diagnosis.

30 October 2002, New York City, USA

You heard about the flu? Yeah

Yeah well it’s true.

How did I learn about it. First of all let me saythat I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for twenty years.

It was one of those phobias that really didn’t pay off.

Teh only person that I ever go to is DrStan, you know Dr Stan, the dentist, and I always said if he can’t fix it, I’m screwed.

And I told Dr Stan that I was having shortness of breath, I had it for months, I did a short tour, went to Canada, and I would only hire people who would tell me it was stress.

Flunked out medical students who became musicians, I’d say ‘Imshort of breath ... all the time’, and they’d say, ‘dont you ever watch the Sopranos?’

I said, ‘No’

But when Dr Stan the dentist heard about it, he said, ‘it sounds like congestive heart failure or something, ‘ so he made me go to a doctor the next morning after he heard it.

Letterman: ‘Oh my god, and it turned out not to be congestive heart failure ... ‘

No, it’s lung cancer that’s spread.

Letterman: That’s tough.

Well it means you better get your dry cleaning done on special.

Letterman: To me, you look and seem remarkably healthy.

Well don’t be fooled. Don’t be fooled by cosmetics.

Letterman: How do you feel?

I don’t feel as bad as they say I am. So that’s a good deal.

They certainly don’t discourage you from doing whatever you want?

How is the work now, living with this diagnosis?

I’m working harder. I mean, you put more value on every minute. You do live. I mean I always thought I did that, I always enjoyed myself, but it’s more valuable now. You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich, and every minute playing with the guys, and being with the kids and everything.