A Gift of Brotherly Love

Cynthia Cools-Lartigue

There are pictures that speak to us, bring smiles to our faces and laughter to our hearts. A lovely man on the palliative care unit had such an experience when we hung a reproduction of Robert Duncan’s “Our Friend Murphy” at the foot of his bed. The scene illustrates two young boys playing in the snow with one of them atop a white and black goat.

Our Friend Murphy (Image by Robert Duncan/ Bruce McGaw Publishing)

Upon seeing this image, the man produced a wide smile. He then proceeded to tell us that it was really a picture of himself and his brother on their parent’s farm in Ontario with one of them riding a big white dog they had once owned. Now, both men are terminally ill. With this in mind, the patient asked if he could purchase the picture as a gift to his brother.

We ran into this same wonderful man a few weeks later and we inquired about the print. His brother was so thrilled about the image that it brought tears of joy to his eyes. It was truly a gift of brotherly love.