REST IN PEACE...

...reflections on losing two more of my classmates...

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I didn't know these two people very well in high school. Indeed, I either felt I was too inferior or was just too shy to speak to a whole lot of people. The two classmates I lost recently were people I barely knew back then...but I remember them...

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Tom was one of the Really Bright kids in school, and during that time, I didn't know him and had never spoken with him. Later in life, I was surprised to find out that he drove cab for the same outfit I used to drive for. Tom worked mostly the night shift, while I was a daytime driver. Tom was one of the "real smart kids" in High School, so I was surprised that he was very congenial and easy to talk to, and I really appreciated that. Tom's brother, Jack, also drove cab, and Jack also passed away a few years ago. So my thoughts are with their families.

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The other classmate that passed recently was Debbie. I never said one word to her all the way thru school, but I didn't say a lot to very much of anyone back then. She was always one of those people who was "around"; she always seemed to be smiling brightly and I remember her as being very, very exuberant. My heart goes out to her families as well. In high school, I had my own little group of 7 or 8 friends, and I was Extremely Scared of Girls back then. So even though I went to school with All These People back then, 99% of them didn't know me and I didn't know them. But whenever one of them passes away, I feel a sense of loss.

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It's amazing how many people we become familiar with on some level or another, that we never Really Get To Know, because we think they don't want to talk to us, or we're afraid that we'd make fools of ourselves if we tried to communicate. Although I didn't know the larger part of the class I graduated with; they were all part of my life back then. Some still are, and for that, I'm grateful. Through such venues as e-mail and Facebook, I've found some of my old buddies, plus I've received communication from some other classmates who wonder who I was. (Told ya I'm unmemorable).

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Occasionally, I'll look thru the online obits from funeral homes where I used to live, and every now and then, someone else I knew is gone. I don't like to read the obits anymore, though. Too many of the dearly-departed are close to my age. Most of the People I knew who passed away raised families, assumed responsibilities, were accomplished, and were Very Good Citizens. People like those pass on, and I'm still here. I'm not responsible or accomplished, or probably even Not Very Smart. And I'm still living and breathing. Go figure, huh? The Lord really does work in mysterious ways.

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I will hang onto this life As Long As I Can. At the same time, I've come to the realization that when Death Comes, that's it. It's over. No More anxieties, no more worries. I hope there is an afterlife, I hope there's a heaven. But if it's "lights out" on a permanent basis, well then, that's that. Right now, I'm a little bit sad. At the same time, I'm grateful to be alive. Here's my wish for Tom and Debbie and all others who've departed this world...

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