Conversation in Passing

It's a F1 weekend from India. We are watching the qualifying right now and it should be interesting race with lots of passing. Alonso? Vettel? My money is on Vettel.

For years, I have been working out at the other rehab and often say hello and have conversations with many people there. A nice man older man and I had that type of relationship until yesterday. I was wearing my oxygen and he asked how I was doing. "Not well," was my reply and that led into a very interesting few minutes. Answering his questions, I told him how I got my disease, that I had never smoked and we even got into a conversation about Warren Buffett and his devastating long-term disability insurance which screws ill people. He told me about the death of his wife from lung cancer over 17-years ago. Even though they had five children, he was lonely and felt very forgotten. With a lot of therapy, he was able to walk the road of grief.

He then mentioned that he was a retired teacher from my high school. I knew him. He was my teacher. I was stunned.

His story continued. A couple years after her death, he was done. Finished. Announced his retirement. After a job search, they hired a woman from LA and during the school's Christmas Party, the woman's sister and he were thrown together on a karaoke stage, where they both admitted to not being able to sing. Their next conversation was at a dinner where there was really no conversation. Finally, something happened. Five years after the death of his wife, they married. That was twelve years ago. Her son hated him. His children accepted her for the most part, all except his oldest daughter who was his caretaker. Her job was usurped! It took a few years but everyone loves everyone now.

He also mentioned that his father was the premier confectioner in SF before WWII but during the war, he was not able to get sugar. He became the master confectioner at See's Candy. During this part of the conversation, he mentioned that he and his daughter had a store. I finally asked the name and it was the candy store that mom and I went into where the spa above them began to leak water onto the counter. I have been going there for years, I know his daughter and have even met him in the store through the years. It really is the best chocolate. In fact, the last time William and Kimberly were in town, we dropped in and I bought William a pound of their chocolates.

But what made this conversation so special to me, is that he was surprised with my attitude and my conversations about my death with William and Michael. He so wished he would have had those difficult few minutes with his wife. He also offered to talk with Michael when my time gets closer. He was stunned how I referred to this disease as almost a gift. I have learned and grown so much because of the disease. A forced learning! He ended our conversation with very kind words, which are often hard for me to hear. I try to maintain my focus on the work ahead. I have five weeks before I see Dr. K. and I am working hard to see if exercise will improve my lungs. Already, I have seen an increase of saturation numbers and I am breathing better. We'll see.