Oldest Friend

My oldest friend calls at an hour that he never calls at. I assume immediately that it's bad news. Thankfully it wasn't. Just wanting to chat was all. But for a few seconds, before I could return the call, I feared it was about his mother. We've exchanged those sort of calls before .... about the passing of a parent. And there's one more coming some day. Assuming that one of us doesn't pass first. And then eventually one of us will also pass before the other. I don't want to think about it but it is part of this life process. It's frightening to consider the time when only one of us remains. We've been close friends since we were eight years old. How do you deal with that eventually ending?

We were born a few months apart and now that we are both "seniors" in some eyes and nearing retirement consideration, you also find yourself at times pondering when it all ends. Both fascinating and frightening. You can't even imagine when you are younger but now it's there to be acknowledged and accepted.

I try to accept dying through joking about it. When I purchased my new car a few months ago, an determined attempt was made to convince me to purchase an extended warranty. After several "No thanks" on my part, the dealerships money man, claiming he was trying to understand why I would pass on such a offer, asked me why. The first thought that entered my head was that I likely won't out live the standard warranty, so why do I need an extended warranty. I didn't tell him that but it was going through my head. But that was my way of dealing with the thought of passing, with humor. Or when I tell people that hopefully I'll die before I have to purchase another car ..... or face the time when people are fighting over clean drinking water.