NeoConMan Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind here in the Arizona desert - in more ways than one. Spring has blown thru with a vengeance this year, unusual for Arizona to have so many days with high winds. Work has been slightly more trying with a maintenance outage at my nuke facility. I was stuck on nights for over a month, instead of my normal rotatation. Family issues come and go, lately they've been vying for more my attention when I could least spare it. On top of all that, a man I worked with for 5 years was buried just this past Friday - lung cancer finally won a 3 year battle. All the stuff about the good guys die too soon is true in this instance. He was from Texas, so he and I shared a brotherhood in that regard. (Tell 'em Pumpkin!) He was highly skilled mechanically, but his chosen profession was I&C. That's Instrumentation and Controls for those of you outside the industrial world. Sort of an electrician, but focusing on the stuff that allows a central control room to monitor and manipulate a huge facility. He was the kind of guy everybody liked. He would do anything for you - if he had time, since he was in such high demand. He had something good to say about everybody, even if there was a sly double meaning to his chosen words. He appreciated a good joke, and was careful not to offend when he told one. He wasn't rich, didn't have a fancy house or nice cars, but took good care of his family. I understand everything he owned was paid for, leaving his savings in place for his wife. He grew up poor and worked his entire life, even as cancer began to consume him in his early 60's. He was the Salt Of The Earth kind of guy, the turtle in the race against the hare. He did it right, for all those years, and had little to regret. As he missed more and more work due to his health issues, interrupted by 3 cancer remissions, he became more distant to most of us. In the end, he was only interested in seeing three of the men in his old department. His failing health and lack of strength left him with no ability to entertain all who wanted to visit with him.... I'm not sure when he finally quit smoking for good, as I moved to a different facility in 2007, but I have to wonder about his single vise and cause of his demise. Cigarettes were his single weakness, never to be beaten. What started in his lungs was treated into remission with some hope at first. When cancer returned, it was spreading. The touch and go continued even after he was in surgery a few times, but his lymph system finally lost out. After seeing him come to work with no eyebrows due to chemo - he was already bald - and watching him struggle to work even inside the shop with air conditioning, it was obvious he was only delaying the inevitable. At some point, even the 50 mile commute to work was too much for him. It all started with smoking. That single behavior was the deciding factor. I'm the only one in my entire family that never smoked - ever. Many have stopped now that they are older, but cancer took almost everybody in my Mom's family. She finally stopped smoking at 70 after nursing 3 brothers until their excruciating, morphine-addled deaths.... We all die of something eventually, but I still wonder why 20% of Americans still do this stupid sh!t. Seeing kids take it up now - with all the access to all the nasty truths about it - is beyond my comprehension. We all make our choices, I don't resent my friend for his, but I'm still saddened by the finality of it all last week. Linden, you are sorely missed. God rest your soul.
deepblue Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Smoking should be banned 100% Shut down production. If I were a Dr, I wouldnt accept you as a patient if you smoked. My Mom passed away from Cancer 2 years ago...I remember seeing patients standing out in front of the hospital in gowns wheeling their I.V. dollies around puffing on a cigarette! It made me sick! Wake up you idiots!! Sorry for the rant Neo....Its not easy losing a buddy. Hang in there big guy.
Bowdiddley Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo I'm sorry to hear about your friend, it's hard to lose a friend like that. Prayers for you and your family and Linden's family also. :- I had a liver transplant back in Jan of this year due to liver cancer and saw the same type of thing with patients going out to smoke their cancer sticks. Confusing thing to me is nurse's and doctor's were out there smoking also. It amazes me how many people still smoke with all the info that is available today.
Flight959 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo my heart goes out to you and your friend and his family! Respect! RIP Flight959
rocketman Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo, sorry for hear about your friend. Your friend and you will be in our thoughts and prayers...
KSG_Standard Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo, Sorry for the loss of your friend. My Dad was diagnosed with cancer last year and after surgery, and chemo he is cancer free now. It's tough to see people suffer so much.
Homz Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Good friends are always hard to lose. You have our family's condolences.
callen3615 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Im sorry for you lost neo. The youth pastor of my childhood church I attended was just diagnosed with leukemia, she was just engaged, 26 years old.
black_six6 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Yeh, I agree. Smoking should so be banned. My grandfather died from smoking for like 60 something years. Bad way to go cancer is....I got to watch it first hand. Sorry about your friend. Prayers for you and his family.
FirstMeasure Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Thats a nice testimony. My hearts with his friends and family, may he Rest In Peace.
daveinspain Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Sorry to hear of your loss Neo.... It's a very painful thing to deal with my heart goes out to you...
NeoConMan Posted April 23, 2009 Author Posted April 23, 2009 Thanks for the kind words everybody. I was just sitting here thinking about the Big Picture this morning. First day off, lots to do but no motivation. I was out riding my motorcycle in the desert. I spent a few hours on rough mountain trails looking out across the valley - good view when you climb 1,000 feet.... Sick of the news, and as usual there's nothing else worth watching on TV. Need to drive to town, but just can't get motivated. Looks like it'll be a sit-at-home-and-chill kind of day, kinda nice once in a while with the wife at work. Maybe I'll fire up one of the amps and shake the house a little...
heymisterk Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 That was a touching posting. My mom has fought cancer for the last 17 years.
Hoyt Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo, I'm very sorry to hear of your friend's passing. Lately, I've been confronted with a number of similar situations -- part of the aging process I guess. But, it doesn't get any easier for friends and family. The passing of good people nowadays makes me quite sad.
Gitfidl Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo sorry to hear of your loss. It is hard to see them go -- especially to something like cigarette death. (may ten close relatives of mine -- a hurt when you lose them). We are temporary beings here. We each have an appointment we cannot cancel and when it comes -- it comes. Some of us are lucky and live to be 70 or even 80 (Psalm 90) and some do not get that long -- for whatever reason -- but it always hurts and there is no salve to ease the pain. Because we love them it hurts. because they "meant something" to us, it hurts. But we would not have it any other way. It is worth the pain to have had the friendship. When all is said and done that is about the only thing that has MEANING in this whirlwind of 70 years. God bless you. You will be in my prayers and so will your friend. God bless all of teh souls now suffereing or who have gone because of cigarettes. They are a curse.
Californiaman Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Neo, be a pillar of strength to his family and friends. Find a way to honor him in your life. Peace to ya'.
Rocky4 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 I have a huge list of relatives that died of cancer. Now my 18 year old daughter smokes. I don't understand her choice at all. In the steel mill world, I and C means instrument and combustion
Corrosion of conformity Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 I'm very sorry for your loss. Cancer is a terrible disease, and I know what it's like to lose someone to it. I know it seems that smoking is a foolish decision sometimes, but to a lot of people it is very hard to quit, and you need to understand that. I myself do not smoke, and I never will, but please do not hold grudges against people who do smoke. I'm sure NeoConMan can vouch for me when I say that people that smoke are most certainly not bad people. Once again, I am very sorry for your loss, and never forget that we all go to a better place.
Gilliangirl Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 ..... thinking about the Big Picture this morning.First day off' date=' lots to do but no motivation. [/quote'] Don't be too hard on yourself, Neo. You've been affected, changed a little bit, maybe alot, by this wonderful human being that you knew. There's always an impact when things like this happen. And when we see it as preventable, it's even harder to digest. People do all sorts of things that aren't good for them. There was a woman here named Barb Tarbak who was diagnosed with lung cancer and continued to smoke regardless. She used what time she had left to travel around and talk to kids about the importance of never starting smoking. But it's a strong addiction, and it won. We are left to try and make some sense of it all. Nevertheless, you got to meet a good human being and share some time on the planet with him. You're in my thoughts.
Bender 4 Life Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Neo, i'm truly sorry to hear that you lost a friend, thats never easy. Addiction is still one of the biggest medical/psychological mysteries of all, be it to nicoteine, alcohol, cocaine,heroin,gambling,working, or sex..........it can be a monster. Cancer is another monster that we "just can't get a handle on" because everytime we think we've "solved it", it mutates and gives us a new surprise.....I lost a Grandpa, and my Mom to cancer, and, like you, a co-worker and good friend.(lymphatic carcinoma from agent orange) Before he left, he bestowed on me his prized Univox concert stack, that although its shorted out and in the attic, i'll never ever part with. Miss ya Steev-o ! Neo, my sympathies are with you.
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