Carl changed my life.
I first flew with Carl at US Airways. In the spring of 2011 we were on a flight to the Bahamas and back and the topic of Carl's cancer came up. I was interested, as prostate cancer is prevalent in my family. I told Carl that I was just waiting to turn 60 and get cancer, just like my father and grandfather. Everyone knew it was hereditary....except for Carl. He explained to me that that was not necessarily true, that lifestyle and diet may be the triggers for certain diseases. It was a great conversation. I had never heard that theory from any doctor or anyone else. Nothing much came of it though, until later that year. I had commuted into Philly the day of my trip and was in the airport bookstore and picked up a copy of Eat to Live. The author, Dr. Furhman, presented many of the same arguments about the role of diet and disease that Carl had made to me earlier that year. In the fall of that year, I showed up at the airplane for another trip with Carl. I didn't recognize him as the one who had introduced healthy eating to me earlier that year until I sat down and introduced myself. He looked familiar, so I asked him, "Have you read the China Study?" We both had a good laugh, and flew our 3 day together. His conversation earlier that year, along with the book, lead me to begin to follow a plant based diet, in part as a strategy for avoiding disease. It has developed into much more than that. That 3 day trip with Carl was one of the most memorable of my career. He had been through so much adversity in his life, and recently. Yet he had such a positive outlook on life, his life. He shared some very deep feelings, and asked some very deep questions of me, things I had never thought or contemplated. And really, when I think about it, I didn't know him that well. But I also felt like I knew him in a way I know no other. In a very deep, connected way.
The last time I saw Carl was at the Philly airport. He always brought a smile to my face. But it was weird, because he was eating a piece of pizza. I didn't expect that. During our short conversation, he mentioned he was going back out on medical leave, that the cancer was back. I tried to keep in contact with him via email and the occasional phone call. Eventually, he stopped responding, and I had a feeling he had taken a turn.
The news of his passing is heartbreaking. I wish all his family and friends the strength and courage that Carl displayed while battling his disease, as you deal with this difficult time. His legacy lives on, with me, through me, and all the other people he touched with his courage, his faith, his counsel and guidance. He was a wonderful person who will be missed by many.
Peace to all...
Rusty Trapp