This weekend was an interesting one. I went down to Manti, UT with my dad for the archery deer hunt. My family has roots in San Pete county and it has been a while since I've been down there, so I was glad to be back in the area. It has been an especially long time since I've been on the mountain and it felt really good to be up there. The interesting part is the last stop of our trip. We stopped by to see a good friend of mine who has been diagnosed with cancer, serious cancer. I don't get to see him that often, so we wanted to stop by to say hello... and goodbye.
He's 90 years old, so treatment isn't really much of an option. His only option is to "lay here and wait it out" as he put it. I found it odd how matter of fact he put it, and also how comfortable he was with it. I've never had a conversation with somebody before, knowing very well that its probably gonna be my last. It was a strange feeling. The conversation was wonderful, he was still the same old man I remembered, minus the part where he was flat on his back and had oxygen tubes draped across his face. His uncanny way with words, and his humor, were still as sharp as ever. The fact that this was the last time I would see him didn't really set in until we said our goodbyes and left his room, him unable to accompany us out. I didn't want to leave. When I shook his hand on our exit, I never wanted to let go. I wanted to wait it out with him until the end.
I say he's a good friend of mine, and I consider him as such, but in reality I don't know him all that well. I'm 23 years old, he's 90. He's one of the last people from the 'old world' that I will ever know. I've been around him maybe a dozen times, but in the limited time I've been around him, he's had an amazing impact on me. More than I thought until now.
I'm going to miss him.
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