Twlight

The setting sun is reflected on the side of a Bloomington ambulance.

I spent an hour yesterday transporting a 70+ -year old cancer patient to definitive treatment in Indianapolis. We sat in the back of the ambulance and quietly chatted while I kept an eye on the monitor that I had him hooked up to. I listened to his life, and realized that he was coming to grips with his own mortality. This still robust man had worked hard all of his life trying to make ends meet, never really traveling outside the state of Indiana; working in the stone quarries, as a farmer, and as an auto mechanic. He spoke about wishing that he had gotten an education; equating that to making a better life for himself and his family.

I felt honored to sit and listen to his story. It saddened me a little, for what reason I haven't really come to grips with yet. Maybe its a man who is looking at the end of his life rushing at him and he is still filled with so many regrets. This scares me.