GranolaBox

What Dave is up to

My ex-brother-in-law Dave and I reconnected lately. He’s the smartest guy I know, the best writer, and one of the best fathers. Dave was always my portal to good things to read from the left. We went separate ways for quite a few years, hence his ex status.

He and his wife have battled breast cancer on and won in a massive frontal attack, raised three amazing kids, including my godson and have both established themselves in progressive fields.

As I said, Dave is the best writer I know. When we were living together he was completing his novel as his Master’s Thesis. It was a great book… a real stab at American myths. It was an extension of a horrible vision of the future of the US. I forgot to ask Dave if it’s gotten anywhere. The longer all the publishers wait on this story, the longer they’re missing out on a great story.

When his wife Jeanette got cancer, they weren’t satisfied with the prognosis of the first doctor they went to. His answer was that it was untreatable. Through her connections as a Nurse Midwife, Jeanette was able to get the top oncologist in the country. Jeanette is tough, and she’s really well connected with all the hospitals in the Baltimore area. Her treatment at Johns-Hopkins was successful.

Meanwhile at home, Dave tried to guide the kids through the nightmare that came. One of his friends who’d been in combat said this process was worse than combat. Dave kept things running smooth on the home front. Like I said, he’s a great Dad. Another guy was a Doctor at Johns-Hopkins who had access to documents surrounding the building of the University. He thought he had some great ideas for a story, and had been looking for a writer to share his ideas with. Dave got the inspiration for a new project.

The project he’s been working on for the past three or four years looks really cool. To really grossly oversimplify, it’s the story of the two doctors that were the heart and soul of Johns-Hopkins hospital. Theirs is a wild story of drug addiction, intellectual affinity, and yes.. love.. But don’t expect any Brokeback Mountain eye candy here, it’s geek on geek manlove. I won’t give away the ending.

Dave and I pretty much talked non-stop the entire afternoon, and the kids played the entire afternoon. It was the first time that my little one got to meet all of his kids and play together. Our daughters share the same name, and they hit it off fabulously. They were joined at the hip for most of the afternoon.

Kindred spirits, just like their dads. Dave is a very wise parent. He always gets his children to think. For one scary moment I pictured Dave as my daughter’s first grade teacher. Only one moment though. He’s got incredible patience, and he’s right on top of his parenting game. It was a treat to watch and learn for the afternoon.

Technorati Tags: breast cancer, progressive, Master’s Thesis, American myths, Nurse Midwife, Johns-Hopkins, drug addiction, Brokeback Mountain