It was the best of times: 

Dave A. went to Berklee College of Music in Boston because he was a stellar musician. For the past 15 years, he’s played guitar for the band Reckless Kelly, who put on a fantastic show in Newport, Kentucky on Friday night.

It was the worst of times: 

Dave K. went to Berklee College of Music in Boston because he was a stellar musician. Over the past 5 years, he’s had two battles with Lymphoma.

 

Dave A. and Dave K. are friends from their days at Berklee… they were also buddies with another guy named Dave, but that’s another story. Dave Abeyta from Reckless Kelly stopped by Dave K’s house on Friday before the show. Dave K. recently got out of the hospital after chemo and stem cell transplant procedures, so he couldn’t make the Reckless Kelly show due to fatigue and a weakened immune system. Hell, he can’t even eat fresh veggies because they might carry some nasty microbes that  could cause a setback.

Friday night, Dave A. played on a stage to hundreds of adoring fans who were cheering him on. And he deserves the applause. But so does Dave K.,  who has faced cancer head-on twice with courage, determination, faith and dignity. Two rock stars, playing different stages.

Is there a moral to this tale? I don’t know. I do know that the line between happiness and heartache is razor-thin, and we never know from day to day which side of the ledger we’ll wind up on. All we can do is give it our best shot and keep on rockin’.