our neighbor has cancer.
yesterday my little sister, a very talented landscaper and gardener, came to make our garden beautiful. our backyard is in very close proximity to our neighbors house and in fact, is not a back yard, but a side yard. while we were getting started i made eye contact with the wife half of our neighbors. i've met her once, she seemed cool. i liked her immediately, so when i caught her eye, i addressed her and asked her how she is doing. she said, That's a loaded question. i laughed all polite-like and rolled my eyes, like everyday is filled with emotion and good and bad...but she stopped me cold with her next words: I just found out my husband has cancer.
her husband is a famous musician who has played with a very famous band for the last 10 years. she proceeded to tell us he can't tour now and she just doesn't know what to feel.
i have endometriosis and i cry all the time. neighbor guy has cancer.
so, as my sister and guy and i worked steadily on the garden, all day long we heard them talk cancer. cancer on the phone. cancer on the deck, cancer in the living room. MRIs, CATscans, chemo. pot. how he quit drinking and smoking at age 30 and now he's 52 and has cancer (this shocked me. he doesn't look older than 42). how that shit keeps up with you and kills you no matter when you quit. i heard his friend tell him about how he'll need to eat the pot. how you can't smoke when you have cancer and are getting radiated regularly. they discussed pot recipes. i thought about how lucky we are to live in the region we live. where medicine like this is barely illegal, how plentiful it is, and how sick people can get it.
i told her the three words that you say when you hear of terrible misfortune,
I'm So Sorry.
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