BFF + C = :(

I've always been the kind of person that likes to have one or two really good friends, and then a lot of acquaintances.  That's true today, and it was true when I was growing up.  Through most of elementary school and all of junior high and high school my one closest friend was Mark Pingree.  We did everything together and even went through the same phases together (skater, Heavy Metal, an obsession with cars).  We shared a lot in common, but most of all we could make each other laugh.  I'm talking pee your pants kind of laughing.  We thought we were so funny that we naturally thought everyone else would agree with us, so we started to make tapes alla Adam Sandler and the Jerky Boys.  We nonsensically called ourselves "Fresh Fish" and the picture above was going to be our debut album cover.  We were awesome.

As we grew up, we went our separate ways and grew into our own individual selves; me, a granola landscape architect; and him, an intellectual student of philosophy.  But over the years we've still kept in touch, getting together some times when I'm in town and going on the occasional road trip.  And though we've grown into very different people, when we're back together, it feels just like old times and frequently we end up laughing ourselves to tears.

Well, a couple months ago I found out that Mark had cancer: stage three lymphoma.  By the time they had caught it, he had been living with it for three years.  The reason they didn't detect it sooner is because he was a student and didn't have health insurance, so even though he was always tired and feeling ill, he couldn't afford to go to a doctor.  Fortunately, he had recently landed a job that provided health insurance allowing him to finally find out what was wrong.  Since then, he's been on chemo and is now undergoing radiation treatment.  Fortunately, he has responded well to both and it's looking like he is going to beat it.  Thank heavens.

But still, this is messed up!  Not only did he contract a life-threatening disease at such a young age (with no prior family history of cancer) due to who knows what kind of chemicals or radiation he was exposed to, but because he couldn't afford health care, he almost lost his life to it.  And even with health insurance, he's still going to end up paying a fairly substantial amount out of pocket, a pocket that, due to rising tuition costs, doesn't have much in it to begin with.

I'm sorry but I'm just a little frustrated here.  So bear with me while I step on my soap box for a moment.  It's just frustrating to look at our society and to see that everything that has been built up to supposedly enable and help people like Mark and protect their well-being has entirely failed them (cancer-causing carcinogens in their food and water, unaffordable health care, a broken insurance system, a hopelessly deadlocked and partisan government, rising cost of living and education).  I don't like to sit here and say that everything is corrupt and the deck is stacked against the common man, but man, it sure is hard not to feel that way when I hear about record profits for companies that are laying off workers, bonuses for executives that crashed our economy and corporations being given the status of "people" so they can influence elections through unlimited political contributions.  All that is happening while I know that my friend is sitting there in his apartment feeling the effects of the chemo and wondering how on earth he's going to pay for it.  It's just messed up.  I have to say, not only do I understand why there are people "occupying" Wall Street, but I also get why their demands are varied and unfocused.  There's just so much wrong with the way things work in our country, how can they be expected to narrow it down?

Anyway, I'll step back down from my soapbox.  Sorry, I didn't mean to go all "political" on you.  I didn't start this post with that intention.  I mostly just wanted to talk about my friend and how sad I am for him, but also how grateful I am that despite the late detection, it looks like he's going to be okay and we can continue to pee our pants laughing and go on road trips.  I also wanted to get the word out that a charity has been set up in his name to help him raise money to cover his medical costs.  If you want to check it out you can find it at www.markpingree.com.

Okay, so I've bummed myself out now.  So here's a picture of a Scottish Deerhound puppy to lighten things up.  How can you not love that face?  I want one!  I want one so bad!  There, now I feel much better