Not to Be

A few months ago, at the behest of my wife, I went to my first physical in memory. It was a relatively painless experience. A couple days later, my doctor left a voicemail informing me that other than some “elevated” cholesterol levels, my labs were fine. Have a great Thanksgiving, Doc bids me before hanging up. As of this writing, I haven’t been able to reach him for clarification. So, I assume this is my last column.

In fairness, I’d been pondering mortality quite a bit lately. Mostly I blame celebrities. It’s not merely that notable people of my generation are now dropping dead, it’s that they keep creeping closer to my age. And, quite disconcertingly, the remembrances of these notable people rarely, if ever, include the comforting words, “and they were far too young.”