Yesterday we walked past a gentleman in a shopping centre. My wife saw him wave but he was on my blind side. My wife said, "I think that fellow knows you." I met Greg 47 years ago. Greg is not his real name. He was an insurance loss assessor, I, field staff for an insurance company in our working years. Greg was thoughtful, wise and fair in his dealing with people. A man I trusted.
As we talked I realised something was wrong with Greg. When I asked how things are going now, he quietly said, "I have Parkinsons." A careful look at his lined face told me he was really ill. Not much at all like the Greg of years ago. I knew that he knew there is no recovery from his cruel disease.
We know chronic and fatal illnesses are all around us. How crushingly different is this knowing when it overtakes one we know well. All I could think of was to thank Greg for letting me know how things are now. So his dear wife takes him out to places to stimulate his thoughts where he can safely watch the world go by - knowing this won't be possible for long. Just one more of a long line of mysteries I don't begin to understand. Greg's mystery makes me profoundly grateful for the limited capacities I have today. I don't believe for a minute this is luck, just one more mystery of human life. Heaven help me be patient with things I can't change - but would love to.