Always look on the bright side

Drink of choice: Wine. Feeling Napa, red. Liparita Cab Sav, ’14 in the glass right now. That’ll change before this is over. Music of Choice: Ella and Louis (Fitzgerald and Armstrong). Dinner: Going to be a riff on a bouillabaisse. Had Steamed mussels and Clams for brunch. Saved the juices as a base. Roasted garlic Rouille. Come on by.

I think we can all agree; Cancer sucks. Scary, marginally treatable, potentially fatal disease. The cure is arguably as bad. I’m only 55.7 years old. Shit. But.

There is always a Sunny Side of the Street. I’ve had this conversation with other cancer patients, and from the moment one hears of their diagnosis, the world looks different. It really does. The sky is a bit bluer on a sunny day, and forms a sharper contrasting background to the things it backdrops- buildings, trees, birds, clouds. The edges are cleaner, sharper, more defined. Everything moves slower. The world is, somehow, more beautiful than before. A stray piece of trash becomes a work of art, like it was placed there to observe and reflect on. Kind of like the bag in “American Beauty.” One notices things previously ignored. Life becomes one extended Emily Dickinson poem.

Food and drink become pleasure. Not that they weren’t always, but more so. I look for more variety; the usual isn’t good enough. I dig deeper into my repertoire and seek to expand it.  (Just switched to Decoy Sonoma Red Blend, 2014. Quite Good)

People are nicer, more friendly, helpful and compassionate. Which begs the question: Why can’t we be like that to each other all of the time? Do we really need the threat of a deadly disease to make us be nice to each other? Do me a solid. For one week, treat every human you encounter as if they have cancer. They’ll appreciate it and you will to.

For my part, I am not nearly the Crusty Old Man I was until recently. Its easy to say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Harder to execute. No longer. I do not sweat the small stuff. I still flip the odd bad driver the occasional bird- I’m not dead yet- but still, things that used to upset me don’t any longer.

Family and friends become not niceties, but indispensable. Without you, I would be done. Just the facts M’am.

Ultimately, one is thankful, grateful, appreciative of all those things that  one has for too long taken for granted. Which of course begs the question,”Why did I have to get cancer to truly appreciate the fullness and richness of life that has always surrounded me?” My bad, I guess. I’m slow, but I get there in the end. Most lessons in my life have been learned on the blunt end of a 2×4. This is just the latest example.

Do yourself a favor. Slow down. Find beauty in the un- beautiful. Be nice to people. Treat them like its their last day on earth. And drink the wine. Listen to the music. Eat the food. Its pretty good.