Musing

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park


11C/51F (high 18C), oblivious to hurricanes, we walk in crisp sunshine, groggy from missing a lot of sleep (there was a 4-police car party in the building last night that broke up about 4AM), Gusta undeterred, romps

‘Cancer is a word, not a sentence.:” - John Diamond

she has not lost her spirit - demonstrates courage, beauty, strength, kindness and willfulness every day; these incredible spirits are very rare, very precious; if you are lucky enough to know such a person and have the opportunity to bask in their glow a little you will be forever altered

many people are not courageous, they are not beautiful, they are not strong, they are not kind, they do not live willfully; I don’t mean ‘not at all’ or ‘never’ but I mean that it is not a constant – a continuous way of living their lives that does not waver

one such person crossed my path or I, hers – she amazed me and continues to amaze me; BS, crossed my path for the first time about twenty years ago though I had heard many things about her before – since then we’ve done lots of collaborating, freelance sh-- disturbing and some modest efforts to change the world a little, we became good friends; we have, we did, we are

all of this has been worthy – valuable - mostly I value the opportunity to have watched her glow; now, brave words like ‘the chemo is working’ punctuate conversation but do not slow the flow of a grin that floods two hundred miles through a telephone line

I called her yesterday, to wish happy birthday - no surprise that great conversation ensued - her wish that her family (sister, husband, sons) each shave their heads to match hers, and a picnic trip to Elk Island Park (rolling down hills on the agenda) was granted – lots of laughter there enjoying the simplest things life has to offer with those who matter most; most people, I expect, would be raging at the third visitation of horrid disease – she simply says ‘the chemo is working’

I remember once, about fifteen years ago, we were driving from Edmonton to Calgary for some long-forgot meeting about something; I got to spend an entire day on that round trip listening to her talk so self-effacingly about her family and most of all about her husband; I know him – smart, accomplished, pleasant – but nowhere near the pedestal status she had him on; she radiated in her description of the smartest man she’d ever met and chucked about how it all started when he had been dating her sister …

courageous, beautiful, strong, and living willfully - on rare moments with rare luck, someone enters our life who is all those things all the time; being in the their presence, watching them in action, dealing with them - makes you glow because they do; it rubs off - once it does, you are forever affected by it

there is nothing quite like it

Mark Kolke
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