Last summer I changed churches and choirs -- didn't agree with the decisions (especially his way of making them) by the fairly new priest at the Episcopal church I'd attended for almost 40 years (since moving to Topeka).
And also changed lakes to sail on -- went from a mooring on our local Lake Shawnee to renting a slip at Lake Perry Marina where I'd kept 3 previous sailboats and sailed maybe 15 years.
I was delighted to find that one of the skippers, Alan, on the pier my boat's slip is located is also a member of the Episcopal church & choir I'd just joined. And Alan socializes with a gang of people some of whom I also used to party with -- I was looking forward to getting to know him better.
Alan is 60, a healthy looking, trim, athletic guy. He and his wife were recently visiting their married daughter in Florida when he had a stroke followed shortly after by a heart attack (or maybe the other way around). He never regained consciousness and showed no reaction to stimulation.
He was kept on life support for about 10 days without improvement until his family decided to discontinue it a week ago.
A memorial service will be held next Sunday afternoon and our choir will sing some of Alan's favorite anthems.
His sailing friends at the lake were unaware of all this so I called a few, got their e-mail addies, and sent them the details, asking them to let his other sailing friends know.
Gosh, life can be unexpectedly short, can't it?
I'm tempted to say that perhaps Alan's way is the way to go but I don't think so -- I'd prefer a bit more notice.
It does remind me, however, of a joke Garrison Keillor once told on his weekly two hour weekly radio show, "Prairie Home Companion" --
"When I go, I want to go like my grandfather did -- smiling and in my sleep, NOT screaming and yelling like the passengers in the car he was driving."
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And also changed lakes to sail on -- went from a mooring on our local Lake Shawnee to renting a slip at Lake Perry Marina where I'd kept 3 previous sailboats and sailed maybe 15 years.
I was delighted to find that one of the skippers, Alan, on the pier my boat's slip is located is also a member of the Episcopal church & choir I'd just joined. And Alan socializes with a gang of people some of whom I also used to party with -- I was looking forward to getting to know him better.
Alan is 60, a healthy looking, trim, athletic guy. He and his wife were recently visiting their married daughter in Florida when he had a stroke followed shortly after by a heart attack (or maybe the other way around). He never regained consciousness and showed no reaction to stimulation.
He was kept on life support for about 10 days without improvement until his family decided to discontinue it a week ago.
A memorial service will be held next Sunday afternoon and our choir will sing some of Alan's favorite anthems.
His sailing friends at the lake were unaware of all this so I called a few, got their e-mail addies, and sent them the details, asking them to let his other sailing friends know.
Gosh, life can be unexpectedly short, can't it?
I'm tempted to say that perhaps Alan's way is the way to go but I don't think so -- I'd prefer a bit more notice.
It does remind me, however, of a joke Garrison Keillor once told on his weekly two hour weekly radio show, "Prairie Home Companion" --
"When I go, I want to go like my grandfather did -- smiling and in my sleep, NOT screaming and yelling like the passengers in the car he was driving."
