Not Fade Away

Text in black are quotes; text in green are my notes. I sometimes write in Spanish.

• Now I understand that many of the things I took for granted are, for many people, monumental struggles. Simple things like climbing stairs, putting on clothes, even digesting food-for many people these acts require a kind of quiet heroism. #

• Not that I kid myself that anyone is ever totally ready for the death of a family member. Death, by its nature, is always abrupt. However gradual the process leading up to it, there comes a single moment when life ends. That moment can't be other than shocking. That's just how it is. #

• I had cancer again. And here's a sorry bit of math: Having cancer twice is way more than twice as bad as having cancer once. Recurrence is the disease's war cry, the sure signal that the stakes have been raised to nothing less than life or death. #

• Seem reckless, but be prepared. Act crazy, but do your homework. #

• Not to digress, but I used to be a real wild man in meetings. I went out of my way to remind people that I was not entirely normal or predictable. I drummed on boardroom tables. I cracked jokes at entirely inappropriate moments. I threw tantrums now and then. I pissed off a lot of people. Others I only confused. But I always had a strațegy. In every negotiation, every deal, I knew where I wanted to end up. Again, I'd planned the landing. That freed me up for all sorts of antics with the leap. #