The sudden loss of an old friend not only leaves an empty hole in your life, but it also makes you realize that we are all getting older - much, much older, and we too will soon be going on to whatever there is after death. A lot of my friends and relatives have passed on, some much earlier than one would expect and their passing's were real shockers.
Looking at the newspaper obituaries every day has become a full-time job for anyone over fifty, it seems and then, when you retire, it magically becomes a new job. When I was much younger I used to smile as my mother read the daily list of the departed in the evening paper. I didn't understand the attraction then, but I do now.
We're looking, with dread, for names of people who we either knew quite well; friends whom we haven't talked to for many years; school mates who shared a happier, worry-free past; old boy or girl friends, once romantically involved, but their fates unknown through past decades. Then suddenly, when you least expect it, their name appears . Heart stopping.
I can remember when people died of old age, heart attacks and accidents. Now-a-days, if you live to a ripe old age, they say you've beaten the system and had a good life.
The number of cancer deaths in any given month is nearly unbelievable, yet if you visit the cancer clinic at London Health Center and see the throngs of cancer patients receiving treatments daily, you'd say we were in the middle of an epidemic.
Yes, it's hard to lose family members or friends, but it's not hard to phone, email or write to those loved ones or old chums just to touch base. If you put it off and keep putting it off, someday it'll be too late, and then you'll wish you had acted when you had the chance.
Looking at the newspaper obituaries every day has become a full-time job for anyone over fifty, it seems and then, when you retire, it magically becomes a new job. When I was much younger I used to smile as my mother read the daily list of the departed in the evening paper. I didn't understand the attraction then, but I do now.
We're looking, with dread, for names of people who we either knew quite well; friends whom we haven't talked to for many years; school mates who shared a happier, worry-free past; old boy or girl friends, once romantically involved, but their fates unknown through past decades. Then suddenly, when you least expect it, their name appears . Heart stopping.
I can remember when people died of old age, heart attacks and accidents. Now-a-days, if you live to a ripe old age, they say you've beaten the system and had a good life.
The number of cancer deaths in any given month is nearly unbelievable, yet if you visit the cancer clinic at London Health Center and see the throngs of cancer patients receiving treatments daily, you'd say we were in the middle of an epidemic.
Yes, it's hard to lose family members or friends, but it's not hard to phone, email or write to those loved ones or old chums just to touch base. If you put it off and keep putting it off, someday it'll be too late, and then you'll wish you had acted when you had the chance.
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