OT: I Cried A Little...

... A little on the outside and a little on the inside.

I went to a funeral on Saturday, the third in a short period of time. A lot of local friends & family seem to be cashing their chips in lately.

What gets me is this:

Last Labor Day at the family get-together. I'm sitting on the patio, eating & drinking with five other folks. I'm the youngest at the table. The talk turns to recent ailments, procedures, aches & pains. One person turns to me and says, "See what you have to look forward to?"

The conversation turns to more topical stuff but that has stuck with me.

Now 3 of those 5 people are gone. Damn.

Now if that doesn't make me feel old, my birthday is this week. I like to celebrate each year by telling myself I outlived someone famous. (Last year was John Candy. This year is Elvis.)

I'm OK with getting older, at peace with my mortality, but can we lighten the heavy load a bit for the rest of 2008? Please?