by Pa Rock
Rejuvenated Traveler
Teabaggers beware! One of the first things that come into view at the Alaskan Airlines terminal in the Portland (Oregon) Airport is a dark skinned fellow in bright blue TSA uniform wearing a turban. You had best be looking for alternative travel routes, because these are definitely not your type of people!
The Portland Airport is cool beyond measure. I made it through the check-in screening in a matter of minutes with absolutely no hassles. I noticed a screener place a half-empty bottle of water in a plastic tub, run it through x-ray, and give it back to the thirsty traveler on the other side. That act of kindness would have drawn gunfire at Kansas City International - the world's crabbiest airport!
It was hard saying goodbye to Molly and her family in Salem this morning. Each time I say goodbye to anyone important in my life, I get these dark, brooding thoughts about how life can and does make abrupt changes without warning.
Yesterday afternoon we received word that Ed Shields had been killed in a car wreck. Ed was about thirty-six-years-old. He was a childhood friend - and later a roommate - of my oldest son, Nick. I wrote about Ed's brother, Josh, a few weeks ago in this space after I met up with him in Phoenix and gave him a painting that their grandfather, Johnny Spade, had done decades ago. Ed apparently had several children. My heart goes out to his family.
Today another sad piece of news surfaced with an email from my good friend, Brenda Kilby, of McDonald County, Missouri. Brenda related that her younger sister, Charlcie (age 51) had died from pneumonia quite suddenly this morning in Houston, Texas. She also had children.
Life comes, and life surely goes. Often we do not have a clue as to when our time will be up, but it does end. Everything changes and everything ends. That is why we need to squeeze every ounce of life out of every day, live without regrets, and take care of each other.
1 comment:
Your last paragraph speaks volumes. As if losing someone you knew is not hard enough, but add to that the reality that they were suddenly GONE without warning. A sad & terrifying reality. My heart goes out to Ed's family as well. I believe he had 4 children.
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