Today I had an encounter with a local man here in Naxos. He seemed to materialize from thin air to help me grab dock lines for a neighbouring boat. He even took the time to teach me how to properly throw the lines back to the boat. I know, I know, I should know how to do this by now. I then had to pay for our stay here in the harbour with him.
He was such a kind, gentle man. He took the time to chat with me about where the chandlers and grocery stores are located. Even gave me directions to this amazing bakery where they bake their bread with a woodstove. (On a side note, after many wrong turns in the labyrinth that is Naxos, we found this bakery. The bread was still warm and needless to say the bread did not make it back to the boat once the four of us got our hands on it.)
Anyway, you get the idea. This man had such a warm nature. Right after I returned to the boat from paying for our stay, a woman from a neighbouring boat stopped by to say hi. For some reason the woman shared with me the information that this man I had been talking with is currently undergoing chemo for pancreatic cancer. Well to put it mildly, this hit me like a ton of bricks.
On November 9 my dad would have turned 75 years old. It is hard to believe it will be 5 years in December since my dad passed away from pancreatic cancer. What a terrible disease, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. To watch my dad suffer and waste away is still the hardest thing I have experienced.
When I looked again at this man I met this morning, I immediately recognized the similarities to my dad. Everything about this man reminded me of my dad, from his warm, calm nature to his willingness to patiently show me the ropes (pun intended). And yet here is a man who I know is experiencing immeasurable pain from what I witnessed my dad experience.
Perhaps it is the timing of this encounter so close to my dad’s birthday, but it has hit me tremendously hard. The fact that my dad had only nine healthy years of retirement is one of the primary reasons I made this decision to jump into this adventure. To follow our dreams while we have our health and just live life to the fullest because you just don’t know how much time we have on this earth.
I often wonder what my dad would think of what I am doing. Travel was never his thing. What I do know is he would think we are crazy to have sold our house and taken such a financial gamble. But I also know my dad would still support me and be proud of my taking a chance to see what else life has to offer.