Above, and Beyond

I feel sad about Doris Day. I feel sad about Tim Conway, too. Of course, I didn’t actually know either one of them. But, because of their presence in my life, not mine in theirs, I felt that I knew them. And I will miss them.

Both, were born in Ohio. Tim in 1933. Doris in 1922. She was 5’7”, a full inch taller then Tim. Not that it matters. They were both giants in their own right. They lit the screen, big and small. Each had a unique knack for acting, which gave me many moments of joy in my youth. I am grateful.

And now they are gone. But the question always prevails. Where did they go? Oh, that Death. That impending date we all have waiting for us. Somewhere. Somehow. We all know it is coming, for everyone. But it doesn’t make it one bit easier. No matter who.

We don’t know what happens for sure. We speculate. We hope. We believe. But there is no certainty about it. If it were clear to us, if we absolutely sure, there would be no fear of it, no dreading it, and no worrying about it. But. We can’t see that far.

The before and after. The to, and fro.

Tim Conway made me laugh. Big belly laughs. He was a comedic genius. And Doris Day made me smile. She lit up the screen with her aura. Her sparkling persona. These were the gifts they gave to the world. Among many others, I imagine.

Now that they are gone, a little piece of emptiness creeps in. It is the thought that they are finished in this world. They won’t be giving us any new gifts. Those blissful moments of goodness have ceased.

Yet. In all of that, we have our memories. Those reliable thoughts that let us revisit their warmth and character. And. Of course. There are reruns.

Losing those we love is so much more. The people near and so dear to us. When they leave us, that dark empty spot is more like a chasm. It makes us ache. It causes longing. And an entire gamut of emotions, thoughts, questions.

There isn’t any changing this, no matter how hard we wish our beautiful person was still with us.

Today, though. We are here.
And that is our gift to the rest of the world. If we choose to make it that way.

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“It kills me sometimes, how people die.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

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“Live to the point of tears.”
― Albert Camus

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“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”
― François Rabelais

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