Good Morning,
As you get older, and like me, you will be reminded more and more of your own mortality. I think this is partly due to what I would view as a “Social Orb” that surrounds us from the time we are born and follows us all through our life. This Orb, let’s call it a “Sorb” for it is fun to come up with new words. [If you checked you would see that a sorb is a European tree (Sorbus domestica) for which the “sorb apple” is the fruit. Yes , it is also an acronym for “Sex Offender Registry Board”, but I’m going to use it anyway, because I like it.]
Anyway, Sorb it is. I picture it as a hypothetical sphere of social influences to your known world, which is primarily occupied by people. Obviously, family and friends of family to start with from an early age, but much more beyond that, as you grow older there are the people you meet and bring into this personal “Spatial Sphere”. Virtually anyone that has had an influence on your life will be in there, good and bad. Actors, Singers, Teachers, School Friends, Military Buddies and I suppose the list could be endlessly defined, but you get the point.
Now to many [sic] of these people… you are the younger. Certainly your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, but also the other significant people you grew up with, like your teachers, film heroes and sports figures and so on. So this is where it starts to come together. Any actuary would tell you that your chances of outliving these people are better than not. You may call it a blessing or a curse. I suppose it is a “blessing” to see our life unfold as we grow older, but it can also be a curse if we were to outlive our children. The saying…“May you live so long…” very well could be a curse.
So during my time here on this unique 3rd planet as it has made 64 trips around the Sun, I have witnessed my parents, in-laws, all of my 14 aunts and uncles along with some cousins, close and distant friends, heroes and personal villains meet their final days on this earth. Fortunately, very few can I say that I was happy to see them go, but to all, I can only wish you the rewards you deserve for the life you led.
Recent changes to my Sorb… Last week Fess Parker (82) died who was the Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone of my youth. I even had a “Coonskin Cap”. A couple weeks ago Merlin Olsen (69) NFL player, actor and my celebrity “look alike” on Facebook was just older than myself. Also worth mentioning is little known Fred Morrison (90) who was the inventor of the Frisbee. We all owe some of our fun times (K-9s as well) to him, also died recently.
So with the changes, lay the reminders of my own mortality, as I am ever so increasingly bombarded with the passing of the people who have inhabited my Sorb for these so many years, I cannot help but feel the loss. On what now seems to be becoming a weekly event, I am reminded just how ephemeral and precious our time here is and that it is within the essence of those relationships which make up the frosting on our cake of life.
This is not intended to be a morbid letter, but more like a “marble” letter, in that I want you to know it is a reality I live with. So on those days that I may seem a little quiet or distant, it could well be that I am giving a moment of reverence to remember the ones that used to inhabit my Sorb.
Love, Dad
To Wilma, May God greet you with open arms.
Photo: I could not find the artist, but the web site I got it from is: Here