Thursday, January 12, 2012

Brief interlude ..

Had lunch with a dear friend today -- an old college chum. He told me that another friend had died more than two years ago. I somehow hadn't heard. Anyway, I don't feel like blogging just now. I feel, to quote Browning, "chilly and grown old."

3 comments:

  1. Frank I write on this only to convey my recent experience -- for what it is worth. And I apologize in advance if this is "another" health story.

    I went into the emergency room having heart pain for a couple weeks. I thought it was a) asthma kicking up, and/or b) heartburn.

    After slapping me into a wheelchair and various tests, the doctors told me I had two blocked coronary arteries the first (known as the widowmaker) 95% blocked the second 70% blocked.

    So they stented me (5X) and I was back on my feet the next day.

    And I asked the doctors how could this be? I am "only" 51, in shape, eat well, no family history of heart disease, etc. Essentially it is unexplainable - the luck of the draw.

    The doctors also told me that if I wasn't in shape I would have died five years ago.

    Now, I wonder. In my youth close encounters were something I celebrated -- they gave me a sign that I was different. This close encouter just made me feel...scared.

    Shouldn't I try to recapure the optimism of my youth? And aren't you the one still alive?

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  2. Thanks for the comment, Joe. Yes, I suppose there is some point to my still being here, and I really should be hunkering down to make the most of the time I have left. But it is amazing how few of the people I was closest to in college are still with us. We were all smart and not untalented. But we were far more callow than we suspected.

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  3. Very sorry to hear about your friend, Frank. Take care.

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