Dream Theater: The Environmental Illness Activist

Photo by Reshelter.org

My good friend B_____ contacted me about a woman he knew named N_____. He told me she suffered from environmental disease—chemicals were making her sick—and was interested in buying a typewriter.  He also mentioned that she was interested in writing her autobiography and in search of a ghost writer. 

I was capable of helping N_____ with both of these things. 

A meeting was arranged and I met N_____ at her condo. It was unusually sparse inside due to her condition, decorated with only a few items made of natural fibers and materials. There was a safe room somewhere in the back, but I wasn't invited to see it.

N_____ herself appeared to be quite healthy, even vigorous, and she soon took charge of the conversation. She told me all about the typewriter she was hoping to find, the book she planned to write with someone’s help, the activism she was involved in on behalf of environmental illness and all the travel it required. 

We seemed to hit it off and I left the meeting feeling as though I’d just lucked into something big. 

Several days later I saw N_____ again completely by chance. But she didn’t seem to recognize me, even when I reintroduced myself and reminded her of our meeting. 

Fortunately my friend B_____ was there. He suggested we go for a walk. While we did he explained that the deal was off—the typewriter as well as the autobiography. 

Marcia’s health had taken a turn for the worse. Soon she’d be leaving for a clinic in Malaysia, and treatments of an indefinite length. Everything else had to be put on hold indefinitely.

I had to wonder if her flare-up had anything to do with meeting me.