TheBanyanTree: Cashing In

[NancyIee at aol.com]

Some are  lucky enough to enjoy even their last breaths. Your 
neighbor/friend sounds like  the type who got the most out of life, right down to the 
last curtain  call.  
 
And, what  a wonderful memory for you . . .
 
NancyLee
 
Over the  last 25 years I shared experiences and opinions in
quality conversations with  a good neighbor, usually standing in
the fenceless space between our garages.  

I visited him in the hospital the morning of his last  day
alive.  He was wearing a clear flexible plastic oxygen mask
that  made him hard to understand.  He took it off because it
annoyed him, but  soon he started gasping for air, so I helped
him put the mask back on and  told him he needed it, and I
pointed to the winking lights and numbers on the  monitor by his
bed that all got better when wearing the mask.   

His eyes twinkled as if a good idea or thought just crossed his
mind  and then he started pointing his finger with a sensor on
it toward the  monitor and moving his hand in time with the
monitor's beeps and lights, like  he was Lawrence Welk directing
musicians.  It was the only time in all  the years I've known
him that I saw him joyfully play.  

I've  speculated since on comparing life with a game -playing
the hand dealt.   Luck and skill and probably desire are all
needed to stay in the game.   The tricky part is defining what
"winning" is.  For me, every happy  moment scores a point.