If you thought this past summer was great.....

   If you thought this past summer was great, just wait until this Fall. Sure, the warm sunny days, high humidity lasting for what often seemed like weeks, the almost daily afternoon showers were all part of this year's summer. But the warm temperatures and frequent showers keep the vegetables growing and the flowers blooming and this year produced a bumper crop of cucumbers, tomatoes and various herbs. I like growing herbs the most. They're easy.

   Of the four seasons of the year, five if you count “mud season,” I have always liked Fall the best. But I really enjoyed the past summer season  and I am not sure if this Fall can match the sunny blue skies, reasonable temperatures and until the last few weeks, the lack of mosquitoes. But if I had any doubts, what happened this week would eliminate any question or concerns about the upcoming season and provide a perspective I had not expected.

  I am back working again, on a part time basis for just a few weeks, until the snow flies. It is a job that brings me in contact with many different people, with many different life experiences. My job is to sit down with them for about forty five minutes to complete a survey. Wow. A survey. Confidentially prevents me from going into more detail about the type of survey, but...

   This past week I had the opportunity to call upon.... let's call him Bud. (That's not his real name.) I pulled into the driveway and Bud was out washing the dust and dirt off his car. He and his wife had just returned from a camping trip.

   I introduced myself, told him what I was doing, how he had been selected to be part of the survey and... he agreed to  spend the next forty five or so minutes with me. I admit that it brought a smile to my face. Not everyone is that agreeable or willing. After all, it is voluntary and it is a survey!

   The survey went well and as we began to wrap things up, he said to me....” It's a good thing you caught me now.”

  I must have looked a bit puzzled. He continued....” The doctors have told me I may have only six months to a year to live. I have a stage four cancer. If you were to come back next Spring I might not be here.”

   Bud is only fifty two years old and has been battling cancer for several years. Along with his wife and family he is traveling to Boston every three weeks for treatment, but the cancer has taken a turn, not responding to the treatment any more and is worsening.

   We continued to talk for a while and what was difficult for me to understand was how positive he remained, about life, about the treatment he was receiving and the people around him, including has doctors and nurses at the cancer center. Truthfully, I'm not sure how I would react to such news.

   He spoke of camping, and working in the garden, of washing his cars, of the smell of the smoke of a wood fire from the chimney next door and the upcoming holidays. And his favorite time of the year...Fall.

   In a somewhat clumsy way I asked him how he was able to remain so positive. His response...”Sure, I could curl up in a chair or never get out of bed each day and feel really sorry for myself. But what would that accomplish? There is too much to enjoy regardless of how long I live and I want to take advantage of every minute.”

   We shook hands, I wished him the best and I started my drive back home. This 'chance' meeting had given me a bit more to think about than I had expected.

   I decided to skip the highway ride back home and stuck to the back roads with less traffic. The trees that lined either side of the road were now changing color and the bright sun added to their beauty. But my mind continued to replay my conversation with Bud and I questioned if I would be able to remain as positive as he was if facing a similar situation. What had started out as simple work assignment this day had ended up to be a great deal more.. at least for me. This would be a 'meeting' I would not soon  forget.

   Yes, I like the Fall season. I like to bite into a freshly picked apple, or pick the few remaining vegetables in the garden before the first frost, smell the smoke of a freshly lit wood fire in the fire place. But now I can add one other memory to that list, Bud, and his positive attitude about life. “There's too much to enjoy regardless of how long you live and I want to take advantage of every minute.”