We interrupt this vacation for a sobering reminder.

Ok I admit it, as much as I complain and roll my eyes at people for checking  the internet constantly- I did check in on facebook while I was on vacation. The new year started on a somber note. 

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I heard KC drowned.” a friend informed me.

Oh My God. 

We try to prepare ourselves for disaster. I had been thinking about earthquakes before coming to SF -trust me they get them. But life has a way of blind siding you with the unexpected. 

KC, whom I’ve known for years, drowned while trying to rescue his dog from the dangerous ocean surf. Grief, shock, sadness and - what the fuck was he doing? swept over me.

I had spoken to him only a month before while working on a play and needed some advice about guns- he had been  in the navy years ago. We had a pleasant chat and I had intended to get together with him and another friend but put it off until after my trip. The sudden loss reminded me that we should not take the presence of our friends and family so lightly. I vowed to keep in touch with the people I love and learn from them because I don’t want to regret the unasked question when they are gone.

My younger sister died ten years ago and I still wish I could talk to her about this or that but the chance is gone. We are indeed brief candles and the heaviness of morality latest blow has not left me the last two weeks.  I suggest you cherish the ones you love, it’s such a cliché but it’s also true.