Last Friday afternoon, we learned that a good friend had passed away Thursday night.
Adam was in his early 60's and whereas not in the best of health (he'd had a series of minor strokes over the past couple of years), people weren't exactly expecting him to suddenly trip The Lights Fantastic.
Last of the spring cherry blossoms
It's a shame Adam never got a chance to share his voice on Steemit; his "alt. views" would have totally fit in with the "Freedom" theme that draws many to this community. He was never afraid to shock people; his obit in the New York Times only scratches the surface.
I'm going to miss bumping into him and his gregarious husky "Loki" at the local hot dog stand; often a gathering place of strange philosophers and free speech advocates. Sometimes we'd have Thanksgiving with him and his sister... and an assortment of other characters who lived "OFF the deep end."
Port Townsend is a strange little place; home to lots of "characters," and your neighbor almost invariably turns out to be famous... or notorious... or both. If you're into strange TV shows, it's a bit like "Eureka" meets "Haven."
Day of the Dead?
California poppies in the sun
Less than an hour after hearing the news about Adam, one of the artists we work with at our local art gallery stopped in... she was unexpectedly in town, because her dad had unexpectedly passed away — at age 57 — the night before.
He was in perfect health, suffered a heart attack while working in his wood shop building furniture and was — as some EMTs like to call it — "DRT" (Dead Right There).
No pain, no waiting, just gone.
Needless to say, his wife and daughter (our artist friend) were in shock.
I only met him a couple of times when the whole family would stop in at the gallery; he was one of those people you'd just call "a really good person." He touched an incredible number of lives in this community.
Pause for Reflection
When I was a teenager (and beyond) I always remember that is seemed a little "odd" that when the newspaper would arrive at our house, my mother almost always would read the Obituary page first.
Wild rose in bloom
I asked her about it once... and she replied something along the lines of "I suppose I do it because I KNOW more and more of these people..."
It was a strangely reflective statement, coming from someone who was typically all about "being social and gregarious," and avoiding negative feelings at pretty much any cost.
But here I now sit — at age 57 — pondering the sudden passing of a couple of people of "my generation" who were not "old," and not sickly.
It made me realize that this thing we call "life" truly is very fleeting and fragile. One day we're going about our business as usual; the next day we're gone.
Making the Most of the Journey
There is more meaning than we can possibly grasp in sayings like "Life is too short to be stuck in a lousy job/relationship/situation."
Budding flowers
Indeed, it is. Because we never know when life is simply going to run out.
We don't owe it to anyone to "stick it out" when we're miserable somewhere; there's nothing "noble" about loyalty that causes suffering.
Strange as it may sound — to even say this — nobody will think ill of you for choosing to be happy. And if they DO? That's really more their issue than yours.
Just something to keep in mind!
In the meantime, I am not planning to start scanning the obituaries for dead friends... but I do plan to be more appreciative of the good things that happen...
How about YOU? Regardless of your age, have you had someone near you pass away suddenly? Did it make you stop and think about the fragility of life? This is a rather specific question perhaps only relevant to a few here: Do you remember the passing of Steemian 
created by @zord189
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180517 15:23 PDT