Jack Keating

I went to visit my second cousin Jack Keating at the cancer clinic last night. I am told he only has at most six months. He is not that old and was very healthy at the beginning of the year and looking forward to retiring soon. His children are grown but Bonne still lives at home. While no-one is happy at his impending demise and his wife Linelle is fighting off anger and tears, he is in good spirits considering. I did not stay very long as he had had a lot of visitors and was getting tired.

I have been reading bits of The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes which is not a particularly inspiring collection but I was drawn to one of Gertrude Stein’s entries:

During the long years of the German occupation, she had drawn a valuable lesson from life. ‘You have to learn to do everything,’ she observed, ‘even to die’.

Jack is a stand up man. I hope his remaining days are peaceful.