Down the Road

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An old friend called me recently. 

We hadn’t been in touch much, and I wondered why he’d disappeared.

“Ahh, my wife passed away,” he said. 

He filled me in on his horrible loss, and he kept saying, “But, I’m doing okay.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that he isn’t and I made a mental note to put him on my ‘to call’ list.

Around the same time, I heard of another friend who’d been dealing with some serious health issues.

Parkinson’s was part of his affliction and I thought about all the time we played golf together.

It wasn’t all that long ago!

I felt so bad about his troubles, but by chance, I ran into him, and while he certainly is battling, he is still here and I was happy to see him.

“I’m sorry you’ve been putting up with so much,” I said.

“Yeah, hell, what can you do? It happens when you live long enough.

I mentioned that I had turned 60 and that I met him when I was in my 20’s.

“You were fatter then,” he said, and I laughed.

He’s still in there.

The ride back home after a long week made me consider the loss in life, especially for a guy like me who knows thousands and thousands of people from a whole bunch of companies.

This is the time of life where you hear bad news about some of the people who shared a little life with you.

I considered my friend who lost his wife after 50 years.

“Just trying to find a new normal,” he said. “But I’m doing okay.”

That’s the thing about life…

…it marches on…

…and leaves us behind to search for some way through.

Praying those guys are truly doing okay.

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