Lost a few friends and family too soon. One died in her sleep. We went to school together and she, her husband, my wife, our kids and I would sometimes hang out. The phone rang and Debby, my wife at the time, told me who it was and she couldn’t understand him. I took the phone. His wife, my classmate and friend, had died in her sleep. About age 40...no known health issues. He was devastated and inconsolable. We moved From Maryland to Florida shortly after that and over time lost contact with the family. After decades of searching for an army buddy from Nam Who was from California, I finally located him In Arizona the week he died from cancer. You never know what hand life is dealing you. My Dad survived all sorts of health issues and even managed to come through the loss of the love of his life, our mother, and get his own life in order, only to die in an auto accident, waiting to make a turn a few blocks from home. I have known my ex wife literally since the day she was born, and even held her while I was sitting on the couch, when she was a baby and I was about six or seven. It became obvious to me she had moved over time into a shell and was not the vibrant outgoing person I knew. We separated once the kids were grown and on their own, and it was easy and wonderful to see Her break out of her shell. Lost a good friend suddenly a decade ago, and even his wife, an operating room nurse, couldn’t save him. He died slowly only because of the care she could give him. I watched her die a few years later...cancer had invaded her body and it was too late to save her, but we tried. Life is a gamble and you never know the hand you’ve been dealt...all you can do is play it out.

"We don't have any law here. Just a graveyard." LL from TREASURE MOUNTAIN