I Took A Call Last Night

It wasn’t a call that I wanted to take —

It was late, I had already gone to bed when the phone began to ring. I knew that the person on the other side of the line was about to deliver news that would forever change my life, and quite frankly, I was scared to face it. Nonetheless, I needed to embrace what life was about to deal and walk towards my fear. Staring at my phone for what felt like hours as it rang, the caller ID reading ‘Captain’ — I took a deep breath and did my best to gather my emotion and set aside the fact that my heart was breaking, and my eyes were filling with tears.

Captain always came across as confident, stoic in-fact. This time was different, he sounded troubled and scared, despite that, he stayed true to himself and mustered up the strength to say, “how the hell are you, Knox? Man, I miss you, brother!” I replied with a cracked voice, “I am good Captain…I am good…just living the dream you know!”

We made small talk for a minute or two, but I already received the news earlier that day from his brother. Knowing the reason for his call it was time for me to shift gears from small talk to pulling the news out of my dear friend…“what’s going on brother, fill me in…” I said as I fought off my trembling lips and the tears streaming down my face.

There was a pause —

I could feel him gathering himself and settling his emotions as he said with courage “it isn’t good my friend….it isn’t good…I went to the emergency room two nights ago and they found something. I don’t know how else to say this to you brother, but I have liver cancer and I’ve been informed that I only have 3, maybe up to 6 months to live.”

I moved to the edge of my office chair and sat up tall, I knew this wasn’t the time to show my emotions…my emotions didn’t even matter at this particular moment. My friend needed a strong, confident response to the news he had just delivered to me. It was my turn to be the stoic one for him. I replied, “if there is anyone on this planet that can handle this and kick its ass…it is you Captain!” All the while I knew the severity of his condition, doctors don’t deliver this type of prognosis for the hell of it. He agreed with me and confidently stated “that’s a fact Knox, I am going to fight this thing and if I go down, you bet your ass I am going down with dignity and swinging!”

We talked for about 30 minutes or so, sharing stories of the good times that we shared throughout the years. We even made plans for me to visit and add to those memories, although I knew that my next visit would likely be my last.

Understandably, Captain’s emotions were all over the place. He was dealing with something that was completely unfathomable to me. As we closed out our conversation, he said something to me that will forever be etched in my mind’s eye — “Knox, you’re one of the greatest men I have ever had the blessing of knowing. You’ve got it all, the love of a sweet woman, a kind soul, and you are a man of integrity to the highest degree. No matter what happens to me, I want you to keep on kicking life in the ass and spreading your light to all of those who can’t see, you hear me!” I replied with my head held high as I sat in the darkness of my office, “Roger that Captain…roger that!”

As I hung up the phone, I asked myself — what are you going to do to fulfill your friend’s last request? I mean, of course, I will stay humble and grateful for all that life has presented to me, but what else could I improve upon. The answer didn’t come to me that evening. Perhaps it was too much to ask of myself at that moment, perhaps I needed to wait and listen for the message, it might take some time. For now, I needed to be a solid foundation for my dying friend and my focus was solely on that task.

I finish this emotional story with this takeaway—

Life is an absolute blessing and we are all here to learn, spread love, and push humanity forward. If you are harboring grudges, if you are not speaking to someone because of something that’s truly insignificant …call them…reach out today and say that you’re sorry or that you love them, or whatever it is that you need to say. Don’t pause…seconds matter and no one knows how many they, or you, have left!

Peace Love Plants

~Marco