An old classmate from long ago died last week.
No, it’s all right, really. He wasn’t a close friend, just one of thousands of people who pass through our lives over the years so please, there is no reason to tell me how sorry you are.
I mention it because, when I heard he died, my mind immediately sprang into action, remembering back, tall kid, thin, bookish, quiet, a bit clueless with regards to sarcasm, and quite concerned about the political landscape of that time. I remember he liked classical music, and I only remember that because I knew him in the 60s. While we all listened to The Beatles and the Stones, he was listening to Mozart.
And that is the total of my memories about him. We never ran into each other after school. I have no idea what became of him, where his actions took him, or anything about any accomplishments. I knew him for four years and that was it.
My other thought, and this is brutal honesty, was “whew, I outlived another one,” because seriously, I think we all have that fleeting thought, especially once we reach a certain age.
WHAT’S THE POINT, BILL?
So anyway, this all got me to thinking, I wonder what people will think of when it is my turn to pass on, and they hear about it, and that got me to thinking that we are all memories in the making.
Now, depending on how you have lived your life, there is either great comfort in that thought, or there is reason to break out into the cold sweats of regret. Just more random thoughts, my friends . . . what we do matters . . . what we say matters . . . how we treat others matters.
I’ve talked before about our writings, our novels, our blogs, our articles and our short stories, and how they are part of our legacy forever, and how cool is that? Hundreds of years from now our words will be read by new generations. But there is more to us than our words. There is more to us than the books we leave behind.
What we do matters!
Just something to think about as November slides into view.
Make life matter!
And of course November brings with it Thanksgiving, and I am so damned grateful that I am a writer.
And for those who asked, I am now halfway through my latest novel, “The Magician’s Shadow.”
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 