Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. – Benjamin Franklin
This is a very short tale, a tiny facet from the lives of two friends. Their friendship started decades ago in Alaska. At a young age, both friends joined the military. One seems to have made it in life, the other struggled despite the talent and knowledge he had. One settled down in Tennessee, the other in New Mexico. They stayed in touch for many years but have not met in person for quite some time.
One friend, let’s call him Rave, ended up sick in a wheelchair. A few years later, the other friend, let’s call him Jim, was diagnosed with stage IV renal cell carcinoma. After that diagnosis their contact intensified a bit as both men probably knew that there was not much time left for them. They chatted over the phone as often as possible. They wanted to meet, but neither could afford to pay for the trip.
One day, Rave told Jim that he received a nice sum of money and offered to buy Jim a ticket. After a short deliberation Jim said that he would accept the gift and get ready for the trip right away. His answer came a bit too quickly. For Rave, “right away” was much too soon since such a visit had to be planned properly.
Maybe some other time, maybe later… but for Jim, this was probably the last time he was able to take a trip like this, especially since the promising cancer therapy did not work. The tumor wasn’t shrinking and the metastasis in his lungs didn’t budge a bit. Jim was disappointed that he could not travel to see Rave, but as always, things were the way they were. There would be other times when a trip like that would be possible, he thought. It did not matter that much anymore. There were other things to think of.
As months passed, the visit was never mentioned again and Jim concentrated his energy on getting better. On some days Rave wasn’t doing well and would lament over the phone how bad things were. The pain must have been unbearable so Jim felt sorry for his friend. His own disease was so confusing, but he did not talk about it too much. His cancer medication did not work. What was there to say?
After a visit to a dentist in August 2023, Jim ended up with an infection that did not want to heal. By October, his oncologist informed him that there was nothing they could do for him anymore. In the weeks that followed, Jim was still making plans and regretted not having done certain things while he still could. His health deteriorated rapidly.
Jim passed on December 15, 2023.
By Dominique Allmon
ahamkara 