This story is one that has had a lasting impact on me. Michael Havelock had basically gone home to finish out his life. He lived in a small trailer in upstate NY and he was dying of cancer. His wife and two children lived there with him and the plan had been to build a house on this beautiful piece of property, in the meantime they would live in this trailer. Instead Michael was diagnosed with liver cancer and his wife was caring for him, she had gone back to school to become a nurse. I was at their home for two days and I sat with him as he talked about concern for his wife and children, how he would miss them and how suddenly everything in his life had changed. He talked about how he and his son camped on the property, built campfires and played in the surrounding woods...

...I remember that the Anita Hill trial was going on at the time and as I sat and watched with him he brought out a bunch of pictures of himself. He was appalled at how different he now looked. He had been a mechanic and he thought maybe the cancer had come from cleaning agents and fuel he had worked with...

...A few months after I left there I received a note from his wife, thanking me for coming to their home and spending time with their daughter (their son was away on a trip when I was there) and them and that Michael had passed away. I lost contact with his wife before I was able to send her the pictures. I received my returned letter saying "no forward address"...

...What's interesting is that almost exactly a year later I was diagnosed with cancer myself and it later occurred to me all I had learned from him about having cancer during those two days we were together. I too was amazed at how different I looked. I hope that someday by chance I will come in contact with his wife again and thank her for the gifts he gave me.