I need to share a wonderful story I recently heard about cancer and death. I am sure you are wondering how I could use the words wonderful, cancer and death in the same sentence. I think that after you hear this story you will agree that in this case it's an appropriate combination of words.
A woman who was dying of cancer told her friend she was very sad that she would never get to go to the beach again. She was too weak to travel the 4 or 5 hours from her home to the ocean. When several of her friends heard she had said that, they decided to do something about it.
On a Saturday afternoon in June while her family kept her distracted and away from the windows, the plan took shape. The friends dumped three tons of white beach sand in her driveway. After the sand was spread about, out came the two cabanas, beach balls, pails, shovels, boogie boards, beach chairs, a variety of decorations and a fire pit for the bonfire on the beach at night. They even rented a sno-cone machine since it had gotten to the point where flavored ice was about all she was able to eat. There were two CDs playing. One was the sound of waves breaking on the beach and the other alternated between The Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffett.
When all was in place, her daughter brought her out to her beach where she was greeted by a few dozen friends dressed in flowered shirts. She came out of the house with some new flip-flops and a beach bag (where else would a beach going cancer patient keep her morphine drip).
I am told that all in attendance only teared up for a moment. The day was filled with grins and laughs. The guest of honor was also given a squirt gun and allowed to squirt anyone at the beach party at will. The day ended with a fire on the beach and s'mores for everyone. The woman died two weeks later, but made it out to her beach four or five more times.
I guess the moral of this story is when someone is in need, try to think outside of the box for a way to help. And the next time someone tries to sell you some oceanfront land in Kansas, you might want to at least check it out.