“Plant a garden you’ll never live to see !”
Category: Other (Page 3 of 24)
Trying to understand my INFJ-ness
Studying the local flying fox colony.
I first met David Freeman Smith through my blog after he replied to one of my posts. We first started conversing through email before swapping phone numbers.From then on we were talking most days,running ideas off one another for the blog. Dribbling shit as mates do. Both having been through illness we knew what to say and what not to in order to escape our shackles. Living outside the box. Each day above ground as they say.
Dave had been fighting bowel cancer for a long time before it traveled to his lungs. He called me in late January to inform me that it had traveled further to his brain with two large tumors forming. His prognosis wasn’t good.
Dave lived another 18 months longer than expected. In order to spend time with his family. I received word today from his wife that he had passed away on the 5th of March. We had never met in person, however Dave was a good friend to me and shall be missed dearly and contributed more to this blog than many will ever understand.
I didn’t have the heart to change the above eulogy. I had sent this to Dave the week he told me the news of the 45mm and 25mm tumors. We were both sick c&nts and both with an unusual sense of humour. I wanted him to know what he friendship had meant to me and that I would miss our conversations.. I wanted him to know I had faith in him fighting it and that two months were bull shit.
Most of the posts over the last year were directed to David. The traveling sections, the pearls of wisdom, sections on living in the moment. I had been sending Dave pictures of sunsets, probably after the second week our conversations started. Saying to spend more time doing the little things and not worry about the big ones. Enjoy life! Time was too precious and I knew he didn’t have time left ,but not how little.
There’s no better way of learning to live in the present or in the moment than watching sunsets. They are like a slow moving fire works display. Every moment changing, the colors intensifying. You never want to take your eyes away in case the whole kaleidoscope changes. Every moment different.
Ive never liked talking about myself and it took a long time before I told my friends about what exactly I had been through. I only started writing more about those experiences for Dave. It had been easier to write about them than to talk out loud about the pain. I wanted him to know he wasn’t alone and that fighting could be a purpose and a way of reminding you ,that you are still alive.
The influence of his friendship has made the blog what it is today. I would never have spoken about many of the subjects before his presence in my life.
The knee isn’t quit up to it yet but got some nice pictures of the cliffs and river.
Over 5 hours of defending democracy.
I saw an orthopedic surgeon on Monday concerning my knee and the reattached tendon. I believe the official term is its fuked all though he didn’t use that word exactly. So now I’m more determined than ever to get the knee up to a decent level of use. Two more weeks on the bike and back to the weight work. Taking heavy pain killers again at the moment which makes it hard to study.
If I don’t get the knee working there’s no way I can do wilderness medicine and the higher level bushcraft courses unless pulling the disability card and just saying there’s things i just cant do. Adapting and modifying becomes a way of life.
In the mean time I’m refurbishing old furniture Ive picked up off the side of the road in the hopes of getting a house. A pub was throwing out this old table. I don’t know how many coats of paint they had on it but it took two hours of sanding. Lots of pain killers and two beers last night and can hardly move today.
I still have to paint the legs white and build up the coats of varnish in between sanding before being finished. We cut out the cupboard doors for the van, sanded and stained those ready to install before my back, arm, shoulder and knee gave out on me. Good day though but paying for it the rest of the week.
EDIT 8th April
Its taken me a little while but the table is finally finished. Half days only or I spend too many days on pain killers and unable to use my hands.
EDIT 18 April
Finished with 9 coats of varnish