paul payne

i went to my uncle pauls for thanksgiving and it was great to see him even though the circumstances are tough right now.
when i was 23, before coaching at texas, i went to live with paul in pensacola for 4 months... we immediately became friends more so than relatives. he is a mixture of brother and dad to me. paul has always lived a very young, active and fun life. in 1996 i moved back to pensacola for a year and did a lot of sailing and chasing women with paul. he recently survived a bout with throat cancer to now finds himself in a battle with an in-operable brain tumor. he is a fighter and if anyone can get through this he will. this was my first time to be around a friend who is feasible terminal and it was quite a challenge to stay present and peaceful. i had just seen the movie "what the bleep do we know" and we had some talks about quantum physics and his role in keeping his energy up and positive. many lessons were learned for sure on his trip but mostly a renewed love for this man, my friend. i cried for the first time in years driving away from his house...bittersweet.