I chose to move to Lubec after Frank died because of all the friends I have here. Rachel has been the best friend among many friends. I soon learned that Rachel is a dear friend to all. Her heart is as big and wide as her open door. Friends are in and out of her house, three doors up from me, constantly.
Circles of friends overlap here. In mid-June, Gene moved back to Lubec, where he had been living "off the grid" for more than five years. He spent most of his life in Delaware, working in carpentry. He discovered Lubec, as we all come to do, and stayed. Now 66, Gene is a kind soul who found in Lubec a place full of gentleness.
Two years ago Gene got stomach cancer. He returned to Delaware for treatments, until doctors said they couldn't do anything else. So he had hospice care ... until he decided he wanted to be back in the woods again.
First he got a campsite in Pennsylvania's Poconos. Hospice nurses looked in on him everyday for three weeks. Then he realized he really wanted to be home in Lubec -- where he has a small boat and a recreational license to fish for lobsters. He also has a small collie who goes everywhere with him. Back here, Gene has been on the water nearly daily, when he isn't visiting with friends around town. He brings them the lobsters he catches and the clams he digs.
I saw him a week ago, and he told me he's been sick lately. Rachel saw him more recently, and said that it's time for Gene to come live with her. This morning, Gene called her from his place in the woods of North Lubec. It really is time for Gene to move into Rachel's downstairs, and be nurtured and fed and loved by his friends. I think he realizes that.
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