Who's Next?

They say things come in threes. I certainly hope that's not true, because in the last couple of days I've received the unwelcome news that two of my friends have passed away.

The first to go was an old high school classmate. We weren't close friends, but back in the day we were more than acquaintances (strictly platonic - her choice, not mine...). We'd drifted out of touch over the years, but saw each other once in a while at reunions. We'd lately reconnected on Facebook.

In mid-May she went to her doctor complaining of abdominal pain. A CT scan showed a large mass in her lower abdomen. A biopsy revealed atypical Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The cancer was in its early stages and appeared to be very localized. She was scheduled to begin chemo in late June, with a favorable prognosis.

A week before the chemo treatments were to begin her small intestine ruptured near the tumor. She went into emergency surgery to repair the rupture. While the doctors were in there they decided to remove the tumor as well. They got about 98% of it. Everything was looking good.

Then, for some unknown reason, the remaining 2% went crazy. The cancer metastasized and spread rapidly. The aggressive nature of it took everyone by surprise.

She died on July 20th, leaving behind a devastated husband, four grown children, and a number of grandchildren.

She will be missed.

Yesterday I got an email informing me that another friend had passed away unexpectedly. He was out riding his bike with his wife when he dropped dead from a heart attack.

He was around my age and, as far as I know, in the same general physical condition (relatively active, but enjoys his food and drink a little too much). He was a big, barrel chested guy, strong as an ox in his younger days. His nickname was Mongo (after the Alex Karras character in Blazing Saddles), and it fit.

I've known him for around 30 years. Interesting guy - we worked together in Houston for a while, then he left to start his own telecommunications firm. (Side note: one of the first people he hired was my wife. She was the business manager.) That firm became quite successful, went through a series of acquisitions and mergers, and was eventually bought by AT&T. He retired in his 40s as a millionaire.

But he soon got bored and began a new career. He moved to California and bought a vineyard. Unfortunately, all he knew about wine was how to drink it, and he went bankrupt.

Undeterred, he started a consulting firm and clawed his way back up to the top. At the time of his death he was once again a proud member of the 1%.

He still lived in CA, but we got together a couple of times a year for golf and stories. My lasting memory of him will be sitting at a table in the clubhouse bar with a cigar in one hand, a glass of single malt Scotch in the other, and a big smile on his face.

I tossed and turned last night in bed, thinking deep thoughts about life, mortality, what's really important ... all the usual philosophical musings one goes through at a time like this. I came to the conclusion that so many things are out of our control that all we can do is sit back and enjoy it while it lasts.

So if you'll excuse me, I'm about to begin what the obituary writers call a 'celebration of life' for my two friends.

It's also known as an Irish wake...