Never trust the Norns, (and be careful of doctors too)
Published: Thu, 07/25/19
I heard an interesting story this morning. A friend of mine is a finance adviser and he found himself dealing with a gentleman and his wife who have a bit of debt problem. The debts were incurred when the man was given a diagnosis of incurable throat cancer and was given a short time to live. Inspired by the concept of the bucket list he decided to live his dreams in the few months left before the grim reaper came calling. A healthy life insurance policy meant that any debts incurred could easily be paid off by the wife when the time came. So there seemed to be no reason not to indulge in shopping, traveling and adventures and to hell with the cost.
However, the Norns can be capricious and very cruel. Instead of suffering a premature death from the big C the tumour simply disappeared leaving the gentleman physically perfectly healthy and financially right up a creek without a paddle. Life really can be a bitch sometimes or maybe retail therapy really does work.
There is a happy ending in that my friend was able to assist this couple in restructuring their debts into a package requiring manageable payments. So hopefully this couple can live our the rest of their days in reasonable comfort and a renewed appreciation of what it simply means to be alive each day.
Is there a lesson in this story for us? Probably, but it won’t be anything you can’t work out for yourself.
I have a slightly similar challenge at the moment. Not so much caused by the prospect of dying, rather the opposite. This is likely to be my last summer for a decade or so without a child to consider. Venetia is pregnant and the 20 week scan is next Thursday. The baby should see daylight for the first time a week or so before Christmas. So, in August I will be making the most of four camps and in the Autumn there will be some interesting training opportunities including two joint ventures, one involving Seid, the other HEMA.
If you want to get any sense out of me before I and too sleep deprived and distracted by the rug rat to know if I am coming or going then grab the opportunity before the end of 2019.
Full details at http://iceandfire.org/calendar.html
regards
Graham
PS In the normal way of things I am really way too old to become a father. But the ‘normal way of things’ has never really seemed to apply to me and this actually feels like the right time for us to begin a family. So, don’t ever assume life has passed you by until you are 6 feet under. As I was reminded today, the three wyrd sisters are full of surprises and they may even have a sense of humor.