BEING HUMAN: "Hey, this is Doug"...a reminder of why I got into real estate a hundred years ago.

I used to always answer my phone "This is CJ!" like I was the Queen of England, now I barely answer it, but I am quick on texts and voicemails. "This is CJ."?

"Hey, CJ, this is Doug, and I got your name from Mr. Jones (past client) and he told me that you are the best person to help me sell my house."

"I am so glad you called me, Doug! Tell me about your house, and why you want to put it on the market."

"Well....I....I have cancer, and I need to do something with the house so my parents won't have to deal with it when I'm gone." What can I say besides I'm sorry, or I'll pray for you or something Doug has already heard 100 times??

"That's tough. I am here to help you however I can."?

And so began our very short relationship. Sweet Doug had terminal cancer and it was extremely unexpected. He had just gotten a divorce and bought his bachelor pad and was ready to start his life over. He told me how hard his divorce was and how much he had looked forward to hopefully finding someone who wanted to have kids and how he dreamed of being a dad and coaching baseball. And then he started having night sweats and coughing. He felt tired and finally got very sick one day at work.?

He said when the doctor called to tell him he had cancer he really couldn't believe him. He said it took him 4 days to realize it was true, and that was when he was at MD Anderson in Houston, having more tests run and being told they could give him maybe 4 good months he realized he was a "dead duck." Doug was an avid duck hunter. He had a brown lab and his biggest worry was what was going to happen to his dog.?

Oh no. Don't show me the dog. I'll take the dog and I have (had) 3 dogs. I met Doug's mom and dad and the dog and knew the dog had a forever home with two very loving, heartbroken people. I only saw Doug a couple of times, the rest of the time I dealt with his dad, who had his power of attorney. But we started to talk on the phone every day. He would call me daily and ask "What's up, Red? Got any bites?" And we would talk about guns and duck hunting, kinds of Scotch we liked. We would laugh about fishing and talk about our grandfathers, and how stupid women are and how worthless men are.?He would text me occasionally and then he got too tired to text. His calls were still daily, but they were shorter and his voice got raspy and we talked about everything except death and cancer.?

The house went under contract quickly so we had about 45 days of back and forth banter, every day of the week. Finally, it came to closing day, and Doug's dad and I met at the attorney's office. A short and fast sale, like so few are. As we were leaving, Doug's dad handed me a card. He said "I want to thank you so much for your kindness to my son. He dreaded selling that house, and you made it easy and he looked forward to talking to you every day. He would watch the clock for a little bit and if you didn't call he'd say "well, I guess it's time for me to bother that Red!" His dad said "I think he only has about a week. But it would mean a lot to me if you would keep in touch with him." He just didn't know that I was going to talk to Doug until he could no longer talk to me. And we did. I talked to him daily for two weeks until the day before he died at home. He called me and said, "Red, I think this might be the last time we get to talk for a while, but I will surely see you on the other side!" And I said, "I'll be there!" We said some other sweet things and to be honest, I lost it. I didn't really know him well, but his bravery and matter-of-factness touched my soul. I went to the wake, I gave my condolences. I went home.?

That night before I fell asleep I remembered the card that Doug's dad gave me that I never opened. I couldn't. But that night I did. And I read the heartfelt words from a person who was dying and I cried. There are times a person touches your heart more than you can explain in words, Doug was one of those people. A few months later, I got a package in the mail two days before Christmas. It was a duck call with a little note that said "Hey, Red! Just a reminder of how good you are at your job. If anybody ever gives you hell, shove this up their ass sideways. Your friend, Doug."

?I can't believe I get paid for these kinds of experiences.?

*Names have been changed to respect the privacy of my buddy I will see on the other side.?