What I Never Told You

 I have told you lots of things about Steve Trumble, but I didn’t tell you that he had cancer. And the reason I didn’t tell you that he had cancer is because, way back when he told me, he asked me not to tell anyone. 

I kept my word. After he died, many asked what had happened, and still wanting to keep his confidence, I really didn’t say anything. But I’m saying something now, and the reason I’m saying it is because I think there’s some real value in having people know.

I found out about the cancer very early on when we were meeting for lunch in town so that I could introduce him to as many locals as possible. I was recovering from a cold and when he offered me a handshake, I turned him down. I explained why and he thanked me and said he had to be careful with his health. After we had been talking for a bit, he told me about the cancer and asked me not to say anything. When I asked him why he didn’t want people to know he said something like it wasn’t how he wanted people to see him; it wasn’t how he wanted to define himself. So I kept it to myself. 

Over the years we would occasionally get together for dinner. He knew of my own mobility and health issues and would always ask how I was doing. And I would ask how his treatments were going. We’d give each other a little pep talk, mostly him encouraging me, and then we’d get down to more important issues--the theater, things happening around town, ideas I had, things he was going to be doing. It was great. We both talked so much that we were each jockeying to get our thoughts out, often having to stop because the restaurant we were in was closing. 

Why am I sharing this now? Well, with the possibility of new buyers closing on a purchase of the theater (hopefully more about that soon), I’ve thought a lot about Steve. I’ve thought about how nobody knew that even from the very beginning of owning the Fine Arts Theatre, Steve knew he had cancer--he knew he had cancer and he did it anyway. His disease was progressing, and still he decided to open Theatre Creamery. He did it because it delighted him to bring his childhood theater back from the abyss and make it a place for our own community. I knew this every time I saw him, and I loved him for it. I thought you should be able to do that, too.