The adults watching the news tonight all know how fragile the human condition can be - and how impermanent everything is - but, when faced with our own mortality, most of us - understandably - just try to RUN in the opposite direction.
But, not Melvin Hulse. The 74 year old former two time Minister and three term Stann Creek West Area Rep is battling Stage 4 colon cancer - and, is about to lose the battle
But, much like its host, the cancer is unusual, it has not spread from his colon to other organs - so, apart from being mostly confined to bed due to weakness and weight loss - Hulse's mind and mouth are in fine fighting form. And for a man they once dubbed"The Mouth of the South" that's no small boast. Jules Vasquez visited him at his Belmopan home today for a frank and lively exchange on mortality, politics and this thing called life:
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"I've given many interviews, I appreciate the opportunity to give my last interview, and as somebody once said, one for the road."
He is as plainspoken facing death as he was in life. A sampling of his still sharp and unapologetic tongue:
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"And I am a dictator when it comes to work, I am a dictator. I make no apologies for that, because anybody who is wishy washy at work don't get work done, so I did not mind the public bite up about me being rough with work, because there are two things I will never tolerate: stealing and laziness. Other than that I don't care what kind of life you want to live, you want to drink every day, do whatever you flipping want, because I am not living with you. But when we are at work and all of us collecting tax payers' money, work for it."
Or hear him speak about wealthy politicians:
Jules Vasquez
"But you should be a wealthy man, did you squander your riches?"
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Riches, any madafishing cloth dog salary da riches and you are putting children through school and sometime you have 4-5 of them. The only way as a politician you come out rich is if you are hustling. A politician is a liad hypocritical hustler."
And while his tone is as biting as ever, what's remarkable is that Hulse -who has been battling an aggressive form of colon cancer for two years - can speak with such strength and clarity - but, not unusual in a man whose life has been defined by a defiant contrariness:
Jules Vasquez
"So explain to me what is your status right now, Melvin because when people see you, they see your voice is strong, you look the same in your face, you are smoking like you always do, you have your coffee right here - everyone will say he must be putting on an act, because he doesn't look like anybody..."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Nobody will put on an act and stay on flipping bed and don't go to work, okay. You know even the doctors are amazed with this aggressive stage 4 cancer, it has not affected my face and my voice and it look like I will have a voice even in the coffin, so it looks I will be up to the very end, okay. But the body is gone. I've lost 35 pounds already."
Jules Vasquez
"You're at this point melting where you are knocking on..."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"...heaven's door, not death's door, heaven's door. Its heaven's door I will be knocking on. The reality is that I am dying - how long I last is anybody's…the fact is it will happen. I'm not in the distant future, but we in the south come out of chicle mahogany camp and because of the life we lived, we knew we were not afraid of death. Death is something that will happen and so we were more concerned about what we could get done, than worry about when we will die."
So, what he's doing now is planning his own funeral:
Jules Vasquez
"Explain to me what all you've done to arrange your affairs?"
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Well, once you've reached this stage and the doctor says, it makes no sense just lie down like an idiot and feel sorry for yourself, so whatever you can do, you do. You want to eliminate a lot of stress family go through when one of their member die - you have to run around and find a cemetery spot and try to build this and organize that - that's why I went ahead and do it, and so no rush, they will have nothing than to be sad and get it over with, cause when I am gone, I ain't coming back, not a flipping way."
Jules Vasquez
"How hard is that to make your own funeral arrangements, like you are literally planning."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Its going to happen, Jules, so what you do, pretend it won't happen and left the burden on your family?"
"Jules why people like pretend - from the time you are in your mother's stomach, only one end you got, death. what happens in between - big flipping deal. You have no idea what will happen in between, you will be old, ugly, short, fat, maga, lazy, rich, poor - that is in between. There is only one end and so far nobody has survived that end, not a flipping way boy - they've come and they've gone."
Jules Vasquez
"But inevitably we form attachments in life. We love life, we love the people in our lives, we love our families and that's really the hard part about death."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"For me, it isn't, because the good Lord has said long ago, this is not heaven, so I am not going to spend time hanging on to something that I know I can't keep and know I can't take anything with me, I was born naked, you are lucky they put on clothes when you die and you can't take nothing else with you. I hear about heaven and hell and I hear about eternity. I am not going to take a licking here and go take a licking there. That don't make sense, because eternity sounds longer than life on this earth."
And to get through these last days on earth - he's sticking with his lifelong habits of chain smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee:
Jules Vasquez
"Now when I came here, I thought you would be concealed in a plastic chamber, I wore my strongest mask because you are immune compromise, but I walked in and you are smoking cigarette."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"What that got to do with the cancer? nothing wrong with my organs, my lungs clean, heart, liver, lights, blood - everything, which I find disgusting, because if all my organs are working, what is the cancer doing to try and kill me, so nothing is wrong with me and I didn't get cancer because of cigarette. My lungs are clean up to when they checked it on Sunday. So, what the hell, I am a contradiction - big deal."
And Hulse is allowed to be that and more by a long family of 11 children and a wife, Michelle who care for him constantly.
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"I enjoy the fact that I have mi family around me. You have no idea how it feels, because a few parents get a chance to have their children around them and get along with their kids and it is a good thing that you don't have to ask them nothing, they are there for you. They come on their own, they do what they can - dad let us take care of you, you worked hard for us and that is cool."
Jules Vasquez
"So now Melvin, people will see you here and think that Melvin is good, his voice sounds so strong, he looks like the same ugly Melvin."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"I am the same, same ugly one."
Jules Vasquez
"So your personality is unchanged?"
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"That is unchanged, it has nothing to do with the condition of my body."
Jules Vasquez
"But Melvin you're dying at a faster pace that the rest of us, because we are all dying."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"You all just don't know it yet. (laughing)."
Jules Vasquez
"But you have pain."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Yeah, every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
And for that he takes a battery of medicines daily - don't get it wrong this may be stage 4 cancer but Melvin Hulse is a fighter:
Jules Vasquez
"Hard question Melvin, how much longer do you think you have?"
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"I would say a few weeks, but we are going to evaluate it in 2 weeks' time. If this new set of medicine helps."
Jules Vasquez
"How many pills do you take a day?"
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"I take 20 pills a day."
Jules Vasquez
"Sounds like a man who is trying to stay alive."
Melvin Hulse, Terminal Cancer Patient
"Sounds like a doctor who wants keep me going and a family who wants me around longer, okay." (Smiling)
And that's just part one of our interview with Hulse. Tune in tomorrow night for part two when he'll talk about politics and the personalities in it who drove him crazy.
