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SEATTLE — The saying goes, a picture's worth a thousand words.
For Brian Linn, that could not be more true, because he can barely speak.
But his pictures, they sing.
The gliding eagles, stunning sunsets, and tilting tulips capture his idea of peace. And peace is at a premium when you're thrown into war.
Cancer is winning the battle in his body.
It hit his nervous system and took his facial muscles, and his voice, and soon, his life.
ON THE HORIZON, #SeattleAntifreeze, pt. 61 He bargained with God: Make me well, I'll make it right. And now that this Kirkland man is healthy again, he's granting wishes of others who are not as lucky in tonight's #SeattleAntifreeze. THE IMAGES ARE STUNNING. PICTURES SNAPPED ON OUR AREA'S WATERS BY THIS MAN, BRIAN LINN. A WONDERFUL EYE-- THAT'S SEEN DEVASTATING CHANGE. your golden years are not what you had planned? no CRYSTAL IS HIS WIFE OF 30 YEARS. that's ok. he's a good man, and we've had some good years together. NOW TIME'S MEASURED IN DAYS. CANCER OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM HAS TAKEN HIS FACIAL MUSCLES, HIS VOICE, AND SOON, HIS LIFE. BUT FIRST, HE WANTS TO RETURN TO THIS. when you're sailing, what are you thinking about? just the moment. just the moment. STEPHEN LAMSON PROMISES THOSE MOMENTS. it's just a freedom FOR THREE YEARS, STEPHEN HAD HIS OWN BATTLE: VERTIGO, VIRAL MENINGITIS, SHINGLES (( and, uh, i felt like job)) BUT HE MADE IT. it gave me this really humble, thankful feeling of i'm going to make it. what can i do that would be really different? SO THE SAILOR TURNED TO THE SEAS. HE STARTED GRATITUDE SAILING, A NON-PROFIT TO PROVIDE SOME PEACE FOR PEOPLE THROWN INTO THEIR OWN BATTLES: TOM woke up with a virus, all of a sudden couldn't move his legs. SUE she's had throat cancer from smoking RATIKA the little blind girl from hazelwood elementary KAREN karen lost a lung. JERRY, ABOUT TO START CHEMO he's in for a tough, tough time AND - BRIAN you don't have to worry about the future. it's just a couple hours of mental vacation. GRATITUDE SAILING PROVIDES THE BOAT - THE CREW - AND THE SAILING. FOR FREE. FOR A DAY OF FREEDOM. the relaxing feeling of just being on the water. THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE 300 PEOPLE GRATITUDE SAILING HAS TAKEN OUT THIS YEAR. THIS 50 FOOT BEAUTY IS DONATED-- SO IS THE MOORAGE-- AND THE EXPERTISE OF THE CREW. every day above ground is a good day. BUT EVERY DAY IS ALSO A WAR. SOME FIGHTERS BEAR THE SCARS. STEPHEN KNOWS HE CAN'T SAVE LIVES. BUT HE CAN SAVE DAYS. we're human, we want to help. whatever we can do. and sometimes it's just a shoulder, in this case, it's just an experience, but it means something. IT MEANS SOME ENJOYING THAT VERY MOMENT, IN PEACE. this is just like heaven PEOPLE LIKE BRIAN NEED THIS PREVIEW OF PARADISE. 1 08 24 it releases me IT LETS HIM FEEL TRULY ALIVE EVEN WHEN HEAVEN IS ON THE HORIZON ---------------------- This #SeattleAntifreeze project is dedicated to telling stories about people who break our area's reputation for being chilly to strangers (a phenomenon known as the "Seattle Freeze"). If you know of a story that should be told, please let me know. Read other stories by clicking on #SeattleAntifreeze.
Posted by Monique Ming Laven on Friday, September 2, 2016
His wife, Crystal, says it's certainly not the golden years they planned. "But that's OK. He's a good man, and we've had some good years together," she says, more to convince herself than anyone else.
They're not talking about years anymore. Doctors say it's just weeks, maybe months.
So, Stephen Lamson is trying to make the days really count.
He's taking Linn and his wife back to where Linn's idea of peace needs no words.
Lamson started a group called Gratitude Sailing, which provides a day on the water for people facing physical or psychological crises.
Lamson promised God he'd help others if he won his own fight: a years-long battle with shingles, meningitis and vertigo. It was a time when he felt "like Job." But God brought him back.
Lamson doesn't know why he's spared and Linn's not.
"We're human, we want to help, whatever we can do," Lamson said. "And sometimes it's just a shoulder. In this case, just an experience, but it means something."
%
%It means Linn will again feel the wind in his face, see the birds in the sky, and forget what the future holds.
Time will almost stand still.
What will it mean to Linn?
He scratches out his answer slowly on a piece of paper. It says only, "It releases me." Releases him from the body that's losing its battle.
It's his preview of paradise. It's quiet. It's calm. It's not cancer.
He believes it's from God.
A picture of the peace that awaits.
Cox Media Group
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