We All Should Be Grateful.

It was so nice out Sunday I decided to walk past the Nursing Home on 43rd and Wabash, just to visit a few ex-homeless buddies of mine.
Most seemed generally happy with their current situation, and even my good friend Steward looked hail and hearty compared to the look of death he exhibited while out on the street.
Not everyone was so lucky.
Take my friend, Marty. He has prostrate cancer that had spread to other parts of his body before he had it diagnosed as such.
To my shame, I didn't even recognize him at first, as I stood looking at his spare, bony body; such a shocking difference from the last time I saw him as the tall, strong-as-a-bull dude.
They had operated on him and taken out his kidney, and I had this image of a bored doctor snatching out body parts and selling them.
From what I could see, both he and his roomy (cancer as well), were on Death Watch, with a room hugging the front desk where the nurses gather.
Needless to say, I left hurriedly, not wishing to spend too much time in a facility that I might have to be soon, since I, too, have prostate cancer. I will revisit my friend Marty more frequently, and see if there is anything I can do to ease his pain.
I was blessed, in that I was diagnosed early and had the option of having radiation theraphy. I spent the Winter at Bourbonnais (summer home of the Bears!) in a nursing home when I was treated.
Remember, as bad as it seems sometimes, it can always be far worst! Don't ever forget that!