NOBODY GETS OUT ALIVE

It's a sombre day here at the Halls. Today we're attending a hastily arranged get-together to say goodbye to a terminally-ill member of our family. We got the sad news some months back, and it seems, chemical & radiological intervention notwithstanding, Thanatos will not be denied.

The real tragedy here is the teenager left behind, who will almost certainly be less resilient than we adults in the face of this loss. I won't attempt to even imagine what this means for the lone child and spouse left behind.

There has been a changing of the guard of late, but this is the first of our generation to face that bullet... a person not yet a senior citizen. It seems cruel but, barring a miracle, there is no commutation on the horizon.

This is the first time we will all be together since the diagnosis [in fact, since Christmas dinner last] and gawds only know what can, or will be awkwardly said.

I am tempted to say there are no words, but at the same time, words are all we have. There will be tears and, I hope, some laughter.

Death is a part of life, but today I want to punch it right in the throat.

Later.