Bike ride, part 1: Kalib throws a big rock; the blonde lady battles her cancer with optimism

Later in the day, I got on my bicycle and pedaled away. Jacob and Kalib had taken off walking nearly an hour before and so I figured they would have looped around and been half-way through the march by now.

So I was very surprised to turn the corner and find them playing in these puddles, a mere few hundred yards from the house.

Jacob was holding this big rock over his head and was about to throw it into the puddle. This put me in a bit of a predicament, because I wanted to catch the splash but I knew that if I did, the water water would likely splash upon my pocket camera. I did not want to get it on the lens.

So I snapped the photo just when the rock reached the water and then jerked the camera away, but still the splash got on it. Big, ugly, gritt, drops of dirty water landed right upon the lens.

I had no lens cloth with me and so had to carefully use my t-shirt to clean the lens. Even so, I did not totally succeed and it would diminish the rest of the pictures that I would take on this ride - perhaps ever again with this pocket camera.

Kalib then picked up the rock again, with Dad's help.

Then his dad gave him a smaller rock and he threw that. If I would have had my motorized DSLR, I could have got the full series of him throwing and the rock splashing, but the pocket camera is slow and limited in this record.

But it is easy to carry and when you are riding a bike, this is important.

Kalib hefted this rock all by himself. But it was too heavy for him to raise much higher than this. Still, I was most impressed.

Then he grabbed a smaller rock and was able to raise it high.

Father and son.

Dad threw a rock into the grass. Kalib went to look for it, but he did not find it.

I got back on my bike and pedaled away, but turned for another look and this is what I saw.

I had not gone very far at all when I spotted Patti, walking on the trail towards me. Patti is the blond woman whom I referred to last week, when I met her almost in this same spot and she informed me that she has cancer on her liver.

I did not name her then or show her picture, because it seemed to me that she had enough to deal with. She says it's okay, though, so here she is.

She looks much better than when I saw her last. Despite the diagnosis that would give her from months to just one year to live, she is walking, eating, thinking about riding a bike and she is determined to beat it.

I told her that was good, because for decades now I have been seeing her on my walks, bike rides, and ski expeditions and that was the only way I could imagine it. And if I didn't?

"It wouldn't be right," she said. "It wouldn't be right at all. So I'm going to beat it."

We all know of people who are told they have terminal cancer, but who beat it and live. So fight, Patti! Just like you are doing.

As I visited with Patti, here come these three.

Patti was glad to see Kalib, but Kalib was feeling shy. Muzzy was not shy.

Patti, who has always kept herself physical fit. This week, she will learn when she will go Outside for surgery.

Comments

[OYO]

Prayers for Patti.

My sister lived a full life for nine years after her diagnosis of cancer of the liver. She always referred to it that way because they never figured out from where it came. They just said they were not liver cells, so the closest they could get was either from the colon, lung or breast - it never showed up in any of these places and I have yet to understand why they couldn't figure it out.

She was an oncology nurse and trusted her doctors. She accepted she was terminal and lived her life.

Again, prayers for Patti.

Sincerely,

Diana in Cincinnati, OH

[Wasilla, Alaska, by 300]

Thank you, Diana. Patti follows this blog and I am certain she will appreciate your encouragement.