Today was one of those days you hear about as you grow older – but that you never want to experience.
I heard today that two good friends of mine – one exactly my age (my best high school friend) and one about 3 years younger (a long-time colleague) – had passed away over the last two weeks.
As often happens, I had drifted apart from these two good friends over the last few years. One of their deaths was quite sudden, the other apparently a prolonged affair over the last several months.
Hearing about both, on the same day, was particularly poignant for me – especially given the proximity of their ages to mine.
I remember looking up a life expectancy chart a few years ago and seeing a stunning 20 or so years in the column for me. I remarked to several friends at the time that the male life expectancy chart should be posted over the men’s urinal in every bathroom as a reminder to just how fleeting life is – after all.
Hearing today about my good friends’ passing brought all of that back into focus – once again.