Pancreas Cancer & Big John

I found out a friend I use to work with has this deadly disease, we drove truck for Nashville Trucking back in the 70 & 80.

I always like to run with him, he is quite a nice fellow, plus he stands about 6' 8" of so and ever one has to talk up to him. One always want the big fellow to be their friend.

Seems that Pancreas Cancer is forth leading cause of cancer deaths in our country, from what I read 32,000 people die from this each year. Since finding out this month that my wife's twin has Mesothelioma cancer, seems I'm hearing of sever people who has cancer. The owner of one of our towns 2 newspaper's wife has some time of lung cancer. She over come it once, but it came back once again.

My friend John, his mother died of this type cancer, John has 2 daughters, since he came down with Pancreas Cancer his daughters has been check, seems that the eldest came back as a suspect, she is a bit over 40, the youngest came back clean. I haven't read up on Pancreas Cancer but some have said it tends to run in families.

Back to John, I have drank many a cups of coffee with him at truck stops between here and California some times running the same direction, other time just happened to meet up at the same truck stop going different directions. Several of us usually always stopped at the same truck stops on those trips back and forth from Arkansas to California. But now many of those good truck stops that we liked are gone making way for the new modern truck stops.

I remember laying over with him at the Orange Show Motel at Colton a few times back in the 70's. We had a grill that we truck drives had bought and kept there, many time we would go across the street to a big store that sold about anything one could think of, and buy us some steaks and cook on the grill. Some good memories are left out there with some of my truck driving friends.

Remember once he and several others were laying over, we went down to a go-cart track, wow did we have fun on those go-carts. But the owner was not real happy with us, for we would bump into each other trying to pass one another. I remember one was a younger boy, he had on a cap, seems the owner picked on him more than anyone, I think that was because he did not like the cap he was wearing and could spot him so easily.

Lets see, Big John, Lazyboy, Grasshopper, and myself, Flintstone and several other was there. Oh, I even remember another one Dirty Dog, he use to live here and manage the local Fred's Store but move up around Forest City and starting driving for G & H Trucking I believe it was. Use to have so many friends out there on the open road, I do wonder what has happened to many of them. My main hope is they have found out the most important thing is not to get to the unloading dock on time, or have the fastest truck, or the shiniest truck, or the most chrome, or stop at the best truck stop, but to know Jesus Christ as ones personnel Savior. My prayers will go out to Big John and his battle with Pancreas Cancer and all my truck driving friends from days gone by.

May God Bless,
Jerry

"Let not your heart be troubled" John 14:1