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First Impressions and an inspirational story

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Lyle From Canada

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Today I had the privilege of meeting a very interesting man.

Two weeks ago, while driving from Winnipeg To Thunder Bay (750km) we saw a man walking along the highway pushing a shopping cart. He was about 250 KM outside of Winnipeg at the time. I thought to myself what a nut.

Well today, low and behold I see the man walking in Thunder Bay. I have no idea what made me stop and talk to him but I did. I ended up speaking to him for about 10 minutes. A nut he surely isnt. His English was very poor, but far better than my Japanese is, so he tried to tell me his story in English. His wife died a few years back and shortly after he began his walk for Cancer awareness. He told me he walked Japan from coast to coast, and is now walking from Vancouver to Toronto, a whopping 5800 kilometers. I shook his hand, took his picture (as he did mine) and signed his flag. I then gave him all the money I had on me which wasnt much, only about $25. He seemed extremely grateful.

I learned a valuable lesson today, never judge a book by its cover. I wish I was half the man this guy is. I got back in my van with tears in my eyes. Anyways, here he is.



--

Sony a500 - Sigma 10-20 - Minolta 28/2.8 - Sony 50/1.8 - Zeiss 16-80 - tamron 70-200/2.8 - extension tubes - Kenko teleplus300 1.4TC - HVL42 (x2)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lylegenykphotography/
 
People need some living aims... Some weirdly looking or behaving people are sometimes more "real" than others who judge them by appearances ("covers").
 
Great picture and story. A pic can be worth a thousand words, but your words with this pic are priceless. Having your camera with you and not hesitating talking to strangers allowed you to share this inspirational story. Great job!!
 
Thank you for sharing this great story. I wish him the best of luck on his journey.
--
FEM2008
 
Thanks Lyle I always enjoy your post, you must be a really nice person yourself
 
Truly moving, thanks for sharing. I had a friend who died of lung cancer.

Lung cancer symptoms. Remember, this is not a comprehensive list and is only indicative of the many lung cancer symptoms found in a wide cross section of patients.

•Swelling in the facial and neck region
•A persistent chough that does not respond to treatment
•Blood in sputum / spit with a brownish tinge
•Pain in the chest region
•Sudden, significant drop in weight that isn't the result of dieting or exercise
•Shortness of breath
•Inexplicable fatigue
•Recurring bouts of pneumonia, bronchitis and other such infections
•Change in voice quality / hoarseness that persists
•Fever that occurs for no apparent cause
•Loss of appetite

Early detection is critically important to improve the chances of curing lung cancer. In patients where the cancer has already advanced, detection can still help to prolong life and improve its quality.

Lung cancer symptoms can be caused by various factors. Smoking heads the list of causes. An estimated nine out of ten cases of lung cancer would never have developed if the patient did not smoke. That is a shocking statistic.
 
it is really nice to see the sensitive side of you Lyle. I'm impressed.

I realize every day of my life that there are far more courageous people walking this planet than myself.

When my mother passed away suddenly from a very rare form of cancer, I realized that life is indeed short and it is good to say hi to people be nice to them, and do good deeds when the time is right.

Afterall we don't have much time here even though we may think we do.

Men like him inspire me. What a great real life account. Thank you for taking the time to share this.

Carl
--

"I look forward to a portion of my message(s) being taken out of context to favor the debates with those who disagree with me"

http://www.CarlGarrardPhotography.com
http://www.AlphaMountWorld.com
 
Thanks for posting this. There are amazing and surprising people all around us. I lived in Japan for several years and have had close links to the country for even more years because of friends I have met there on travels starting 25 years ago. I know that the image that many people in the West have of Japanese is often so wrong. They are a very warm, fun loving people so this man doesn't surprise me at all. I wish I could have met him too. While my Japanese is no way near the level of a Japanese it is quite good enough to have long conversations and I would have enjoyed talking with him in English or Japanese or more likely, some of both.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com
 
Is there a place online that we can donate to his cause? Would be interested in finding out.
 
Lyle From Canada said:
Today I had the privilege of meeting a very interesting man.

Two weeks ago, while driving from Winnipeg To Thunder Bay (750km) we saw a man walking along the highway pushing a shopping cart. He was about 250 KM outside of Winnipeg at the time. I thought to myself what a nut.

Well today, low and behold I see the man walking in Thunder Bay. I have no idea what made me stop and talk to him but I did. I ended up speaking to him for about 10 minutes. A nut he surely isnt. His English was very poor, but far better than my Japanese is, so he tried to tell me his story in English. His wife died a few years back and shortly after he began his walk for Cancer awareness. He told me he walked Japan from coast to coast, and is now walking from Vancouver to Toronto, a whopping 5800 kilometers. I shook his hand, took his picture (as he did mine) and signed his flag. I then gave him all the money I had on me which wasnt much, only about $25. He seemed extremely grateful.

I learned a valuable lesson today, never judge a book by its cover. I wish I was half the man this guy is. I got back in my van with tears in my eyes. Anyways, here he is.
Click to expand...
me too, I judged and bashed Thom Hogan in some threads on him here and I felt so good for a moment.

Thom personally replied to me after we started a series of stupid threads on him and I apologized and I suggested him to start a new thred and telling people what he really meant like he told me about it.

after that I am impressed and I feel like I owe something big , just like this interesting gentleman , Thom is a very polite and great person.

I should've never judged him by one silly posting of him.

Exactlly, never jusdge anything by its colover...........I am embarrased.
Lyle From Canada said:


--

Sony a500 - Sigma 10-20 - Minolta 28/2.8 - Sony 50/1.8 - Zeiss 16-80 - tamron 70-200/2.8 - extension tubes - Kenko teleplus300 1.4TC - HVL42 (x2)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lylegenykphotography/
Click to expand...
 
Being a scientist i know of course that all of this is coincidence. However as a human I see that you were meant to meet this guy.

You met him twice and he enriched your life. You shared they story and the picture with us. I read it here during work time. And it motivated me to continue working on my biomarker research plan for my cancer research project. So I'll stop wasting time now and get it done.

Thanks for sharing!

--
the second mouse gets the cheese
 
Great story Lyle! He sounds like a real trouper. Maybe you should get into photojournalism ;-)
--
AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!
 
A very captivating story and image! I hope he accomplishes his goal and that some media folks will help him in that endeavour.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
A moving story. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thanks to all who took the time to read this and reply. I never did manage to get his name, I just could'nt understand it enough. I had enough trouble trying to understand his story and this sadly i feel will be his biggest hurdle. He is doing this alone, no media, no help, no nothing. Just a lone guy, a shopping cart full of stuff he needs to survive and a flag he gets people lucky enough to meet him to sign. I made a donation last night to the Canadian Cancer Society. No specific cause, just a straight donation. I wish this guy could get some press, and some help getting his message out. I sent a message to the local paper but have not heard back.

To love someone enough to do what he is doing is something a lot of people will never experience imo. To lose that love and have to courage to do what he is doing is beyond anything I can fathom. I cant stop thinking about this guy and wish i could have done more.
--

Sony a500 - Sigma 10-20 - Minolta 28/2.8 - Sony 50/1.8 - Zeiss 16-80 - tamron 70-200/2.8 - extension tubes - Kenko teleplus300 1.4TC - HVL42 (x2)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lylegenykphotography/
 
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