you gave many of us a chance to see parts of the world that we never would, and to live a life that many of us could only dream about, following a lottery win or the death of a previously unknown rich relative, but in a way that did not engender envy ,
i think what came across most was that you felt it was a privilege to do all that, and not a right because you could afford it, and that you thought that the very least that you could do was to share it with us in a “look at what a fantastic place the world is” rather than a “look at me scuba diving in the middle of the pacific” kind of way, your enthusiasm shining through for even the long, boring night watches or the oncoming squalls.
your delight at new islands reached and new people met, (and new drinks drunk) lit up the blog.
i am not usually one to gush in praise, being a man of few words, verbally, normally a wink or little smile will convey a thousand words for me,
your above comment illustrates, to me anyway, why you are held in such high regard by those that have met you;
even in the midst of what must be the most terrifying ordeal you have faced so far, you are still concerned for others.
i know that when the time comes for me, and i have whichever of the life threateners that gets to me first, i will not have your calmness and dignity,(although i am sure there have probably been moments of sheer panic and “why me”) and nor, i am sure, will i be thinking about anyone else!
all i can do now, is wish you all the best for the future, and that the remainder of your treatment is as successful as it appears to have been up to now, and that you emerge fit and well and get on with the next leg of your life with helen and the kids, and your granddaughter, who i hope brings you as much joy as my latest one does to me.

No. And I still don’t. When you “pay forward” you do it, as you say, because you CAN. It is, in essence, a very human thing to do. However we approach life, we tend to aggregate people around us of a similar mindset either through attraction and/or influence. Thus, for example, the untrustworthy are surrounded by the untrustworthy, haters by other haters and the positive by the positive. I call it a bonus that having lived the way I do, I have close friends I may never have met otherwise for whom I have great love and admiration.

But I also know I may be able to do more. I’ll never find out though if I don’t try. There is another thread going on in my life which, for a few reasons, I will not share in detail for a while. It relates to an incident in my life that occurred decades ago which for me had little to no consequence. There was a lost opportunity though largely a result of my lack of awareness which resulted in great pain for others which chills me now that I know about it. I have come into contact with one of the individuals involved who turned their pain into greater good for others. I am humbled. For my part I am involved in helping to close a barn door that was left open for far too long. But I am left suspecting there are a lot of barn doors open elsewhere which can be closed with a little help in the right direction. My mind churns.