Imagine, if you will. Knowing that you have exactly 2 months,10 days,12 hours, 40 minutes and 7 seconds left to experience life as you know it. You'd be the lucky one, for sure. There would be plenty of time to prepare yourself and your family and the finances for the big event. Time for sky divin' and rocky mountain climbing and 2.7 seconds on a bull.

One day could be devoted to the finances of the whole deal. Talk to an attorney after rounding up the paperwork that constitutes the monetary value of your life...your estate. Retirement accounts, life insurance, property..tally it up and pass it on over. You won't need it and the heirs will just blow it. You dig up a living will and state purposefully what you want in the end, with witnesses to back you up. You appoint someone you trust to make sure it's done that way in spite of heroic doctors and stuff-that-happens to get in the way of what you want for yourself and your family at the end of your life.

After all that's done, it's play time. Why the heck not?? Play bridge. Eat what you like. Talk, cry, hug, call, touch, stay awake. Read, write, laugh and speak. Say all the things to all the people that you never had the courage to say, like "I love you" or "You pissed me off when....". Sing your freakin' heart out.

The diet is out the window and your pride is waning, so what the hell. Kiss every baby you see and feed the birds. Sleep with the the dawgs. Watch the sun rise and set all in one day and gaze at the wonder of it.


We don't have that luxury, of course. It could be tomorrow or next week or next year. It could be on the eve of the next milestone or on a holiday or a birthday or a weekend. That's all up to the Big Guy and goes according to His plan. That's FAITH.


HOPE is about ridin' the bull and jumping out of the plane or climbing the mountain. It's about grabbing onto what makes you smile and/or cry and hangin' on for dear life. It floats.



According to statistics we're right where we were before even though the speaking skills improved a bit.

Y'all can put your valentines in my white paper sack on my desk. The one with the red construction paper heart on it.

^j^