Ben and me

It has been a little too long since I have seen him. He has lost a lot of weight and isn't quite as lively as he has been in the past, but it was good to see him.

Today, I stopped by for some tea and got to sit with him and chat a while. He seemed kind of stoic and coldly philosophical about his health and his prognosis. He rightly pointed out that a lot of people don't have the time he has had coming to grips with their mortality. Their families merely lose them in an instant and have to deal with the sudden aftermath.

I guess I'm trying to see it that way now. In a good year, I might have seen him half a dozen or fewer times. I know that time is more compressed now, but I should look at it as an opportunity that some people never get.