I was just informed a few minutes ago that the purchasing manager at our office passed last night, at age 55. I wasn't a close friend of LM, but I'd worked with him frequently and could get along with him for the most part. He was one of the better people I have had to interact with, even if he did have quirks that could make him annoying to deal with now and then. I'm not sure why I'm so shocked by this news. One, the man was not exactly the posterboy for a healthy lifestyle -- he was quite overweight and a smoker, for one thing. I also know he'd had open-heart surgery a few years ago, indicating that there were probably some other things wrong with his body as well. And it's not as if I've never had anybody I knew or loved pass -- I've been to more funerals in my 23 years on this planet than I really care to mention. As I got older each one hit home a little more, especially when I started having to attend funerals for people who were taken by cancer; I suspect those impacted me the most because I still suffer a small amount of survivor's guilt. I'll never understand why I was able to live through my cancer and yet it seems to take other people I was close to.
I guess it's just the sudden reminder of how fragile we humans really are. Maybe I should just be happy that I'm not so jaded that the news didn't jolt me....
