Proclivities wrote:

But not this kind. 

 Proclivities wrote:

But not this kind. 

 islander wrote:
Yes. There is always room for "new" mistakes.

 Proclivities wrote:
We could make a drinking game out of it.... might lead to some new mistakes!

 SeriousLee wrote:

I think Tom Waits said long ago, "All my friends are dead or not feeling too well." He was old before he was old.

My mother had cancer and was really pissed off at my father for dying before her. I do have young friends, but it is hard to have close young friends. Then again it is hard to have close friends as an adult. I think women do that better. 

Then there is my partner's young friend who is dying of pancreatic cancer, which hits close to home as many of you know. When my mother was dying, a new-agey friend of hers gave her a piece of amethyst geode to keep by her bed to help her sleep. I inherited it and gave it to a friend who got breast cancer. Since then we have been giving pieces to the many women we know who get cancer, including P and BHD.

 Lazy8 wrote:
That's very true.  Most of the friends I have now are younger than I am - some substantially younger.  It wasn't conscious choice it just kind of worked out that way.  Partially because I live in a college town and it has a lot of bars (a couple of which I hang out in pretty often), and there is also a rich music scene here.  A lot the people I hung around with years ago don't come out as often, (kids, health issues, stopped drinking, etc.) and it is also kind of amusing to watch folks make the same mistakes I made years ago.

 Steely_D wrote:
Maybe you just need some younger friends.

Not as easy as it sounds, I know. You can get used to being the oldest one in the room. Avoid the social sclerosis that comes from only listening to the oldies station and go volunteer, hear some music, watch people make the same mistakes you made in your youth while biting your tongue. It's totally worth it.

Bought this sticker:

 rgio wrote:

I don’t remember much/anything about Anne Rice’s first vampire book except his sadness that all the good he sees around him, all the people he loves, they will all pass away but he’ll just keep “living.” As people around me get sick and/or die I start to feel like that guy. Not too far from 70 (!) and still firing on most cylinders. We get together with friends and they can’t this or won’t that and we want them to just come along with us….but they don’t.

 miamizsun wrote:

"There is life, there is death
And the difference between either one
Is one single breath"

 Dejaveux wrote:
Agreed.  You either bear it or pile it on to someone else.

My wife and I both have an uncle who is the last of their families.  Brothers and sisters are all gone.  Their spouses passed away last year.  They are lost.

My uncle is going to spend eternity in a mausoleum with his wife, next to my parents...next to my grandparents.   He is the only one missing right now, and visits with them nearly every day (long story, but he is passing them on his way to have coffee every day with a group of guys...so it's not all bad).   

Almost all of this friends are gone.   

He's 85.  Relatively healthy.  Living alone for the first time in his life.  Driving.  Day starts at 5:30 at the gym and wraps with cocktails most nights with a small group of neighbors in a similar situation.

Is being "the last" good or bad?  It's a daily question with no answer.

 miamizsun wrote:


I have thought of this often, but my perspective seems to mostly come with the observation of those around me getting older and thinking that if I were to die before them it would be like cheating, like I got away with something.  Ultimately am sobered by the thought of them being sad so it is a quite selfish notion.  So we carry on and bear the inevitable but necessary sadness....

 SeriousLee wrote:

Yeah, that is the trade off for living longer...Sorry for the loss of your friends,

 Steely_D wrote:
true story
i used to live in a high rise
i would see a very old woman in the elevator
sweet, wrinkled and a beautiful smile
small talk, age came up, she was 91
i said you must be doing something right and we laughed
slowly the laugh faded and she went silent and then she said to me that she had watched all of her family and friends die/pass

=========================================

i live close to a fairly large hospital (2 blocks)
constantly i see and hear emergency vehicles 
occasionally some in my current complex
sobering thought: one day they will be coming for me
my turn to ride is getting closer...
 

 Steely_D wrote:

I really liked him in his early days. Didn’t realize he’s 81 now.

 Steely_D wrote:

 SeriousLee wrote:

It's a horrible thought that comes as you/I age:
Either I'm gonna watch my loved ones die - or I will. But one of those is true.

 Welly wrote:

A friend said he managed to speak to Cockburn, and told him that the Circles in the Stream album meant so much to him (amen).
Bruce's reply: "Yeah, I'm not that guy any more."

I got tickets to see Bruce Cockburn in a small theatre next spring. Then I listened to his newest album. It's all covers and his voice is not good, sadly.  
Thinking I might sell those tickets.

Life is short. Friends falling.