Expert #1

1. Intense artist  http://www.erikwood.com/unchartedwatersmovie.html
2. Moved quickly: love at first sight, lived in apartment together, married after 4 years, decided to have family 2 boys Josh and Ean.
3. Together 24/7
4. Diagnosed with kidney cancer on thanksgiving 2006
5. Couldn't get insurance
6. "Why is that asshole still walking when my dad is dead." josh
7. He wanted to pretend he was going to "beat it"
8. "Treat everyone one as what they are, a human being, no matter their position"
9. Vacation
10. Death signs leading to his death. 

Viewing Erik’s website which is http://www.erikwood.com/unchartedwatersmovie.html , I found it to be very interesting being that I am a little artist myself. Beth Bennett was correct when she said he was an intense artist. His last paintings were very strong. They all depict different things. There are many so I won’t talk about all but about some that struck me. One of them is 2 fishes kissing. One with a woman face and one with a man face. I interpreted it as Beth and Erik’s last kiss. Some fishes are closing their eyes and I feel like those portray death because a dead fish has their eyes shut. Then there were two with baby faces, I feel like those represent his two children, Ean and josh. Humans "swim" through the "ocean of suffering" without fear, just like a fish swims through water. In general I see it as a human/fish swimming through water symbolizing that humans "swim" through the "ocean of suffering" without fear. Erik saw himself as a fish because he didn’t fear what was ahead of him. He found himself taking on these challenges as a part of life. 

"He was not a dinner husband because we were together 24/7". I found this to be super interesting. I have family but I don’t think I am as united. I am not with them 24/7, nor do I want to be. I feel like I need my space. I get bored easily, so spending so much time with someone is not something I would do. She was right about it being love at first sight. They settled quickly. They were each other’s right hand one another. Together they raised a strong family. Beth, Ean, and josh were very strong. A death isn’t something easy to deal with. It’s hard to let go, in my perspective. "Why is that asshole still walking when my dad is dead?" (Josh) josh demonstrates how it affected him so much, he hasn't let go of his father which is understandable. They were best friends. After spending 24/7 with someone I would imagine for it to be hard once you don't. For Beth though, it wasn't as hard. 

  The lesson that I got from this touching and admiring story was that you "treat everyone one as what they are, a human being, no matter their position they are in". This is a good lesson because sometimes we look down upon other people. We shouldn't judge a book by their cover. One shouldn't be judged by their race, religion, color, height, weight, class, job, etc. Beth proves you can go a long way when you respect everyone because as a whole we are human beings. Through this respect she was able to get insurance and everything she wanted. Everyone loved them even the radiologists would let them go up front all the time. This was a great advantage to Erik and his family. I have a great admiration for both. For Beth because she was able to deal with all this yet peacefully deal with her husband's death. You can tell she loved him dearly. And for Erik because he was strong and never gave up. He accepted everything that came his way without complaining. They are a great example of how one should be united with family not after an illness but always just like them