March is Cancer Sucks Month

I still remember like it was yesterday my friend calling me on March 17 2009 and saying he had Cancer. I really thought it was a joke. You see that is how my friend was he was a jokester although when he handed the phone to his father, I new it was serious. I headed as fast as I could to Huntsman Cancer Institute. It was there I found out the magnitude and painful journey that awaited my friend. Clint hated hospitals and I could tell he was a little scared about what was going to happen. I said, Hey dude I will sleep here with you for the next few days, you won't be alone we can hang. It was there that we really bonded. Not that we hadn't in the 32 years we had known each other, but here is where we talked about life and struggle. Clint made the decision then and there he was going to fight and give everything he had to try and beat this cancer. The things he told me about his precious family, his wife and two beautiful daughters... I cannot forget and wrote them down in my journal for them to always remember what he said. After he fell asleep at the hospital after a long night of talk, I just sat there awake and cried for my friend. I didn't want him to see any fear in me so I needed to always have the face of strength..Both of us had no idea what awaited ahead but the decision was made that no matter what we would hold the line. In battle a commander doesn’t yell Hold the Line when everything is going well rather he yells it when the line starts to break because soldiers being tempted to leave and flee….Hold the line means to look death in the face and accomplish the mission. My friend battled to his last breath on March 6, 2010. I miss him. Everyday I think of him. I hear these sayings all the time...Life isn't fair, why do bad things happen to good people, why... I don't have all the answers... What I do know is that the experiences I have had with my friend are engraved inside of me and help make me better, try harder, love more, and cherish every moment I have here.
I miss you Clint. See you when its my turn.