Where I'm supposed to be

Last week, I told you about Andrew Montgomery, the Powell guy I interviewed who successfully survived a bone marrow transplant 5 years ago.

Today, that interview appeared in my weekly Shopper-News column. A few minutes ago, I received a phone call from the mother of an old friend, Rick Goforth. She said that Rick is going through the same situation. It's been touch and go, she says, but Rick is in good spirits. He's hoping to go to Vanderbilt for treatment this fall.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said. "So much of what we've read has been negative. This was the first positive story we've heard."

Haven't seen Rick in 6 or 7 years. He and I used to sing together, a lifetime ago. Our "signature tune" was the old Southern Gospel classic, "They're Holding Up the Ladder." I knew Rick has been ill, but had no idea he suffered from this rare form of leukemia.

It's funny how life works. Sometimes I get discouraged, figuring the grass is always greener, wondering if at the end of the day all I'm doing is killing trees. Then, you get a phone call like the one today, and it puts everything -- including the very act of living -- into perspective.

Jerry Askew at St. Mary's has a little saying, all about people being right where they're supposed to be. I'm not going to get rich, and God knows it isn't always fun, but that phone call sure made me glad I'm sitting out here in Halls, herding words, telling stories, living this life.

Call me crazy, but ups and downs aside, I just can't imagine being anywhere else.