My aunt passed away yesterday. She battled leukemia for several years, visited with her brothers and sisters within the last month or so, was surrounded by her family, was at peace with the world and ready to go. The only thing she didnÂ’t manage was her very last goal, which was to make it to her next birthday. She and I shared our birthdays. She would have been 87 on Monday.

I just spent a few hours alone out in the backyard. I built a fire and just sat there our swing, thinking and watching the flames.

The last time I had done that was with my best friend Paul. WeÂ’re closer than brothers; he was best man at my wedding, and weÂ’re godfather to each otherÂ’s sons. And yet as alike as we are, weÂ’ve led two totally different lives. I got married and settled down, while he just kept running full speed at life. WeÂ’ve talked about it, and weÂ’re both a little jealous of the other sometimes. Paul has seen the Taj Mahal, and slept under the Eiffel Tower, and spent time living in the Ukraine and the Philippines. His first wife was killed in an auto accident, and I was the first person he called. His son, my godson, was killed in another car wreck. He found out by being paged at an airport in Japan as he was making a connecting flight.

Despite it all, heÂ’s still happy. HeÂ’s satisfied with his life, even after all the pain heÂ’s endured. He has a wonderful wife and daughter, who calls me Uncle Ted. I love them all, and there isnÂ’t anything I wouldnÂ’t do for him.

Part of the reason I went out and built a fire was because after reading this idiot, I needed to calm down and regain my composure. To Stump, all I can say is that you are an asshole with no tolerance for anyone who doesnÂ’t act and believe exactly like yourself. You think that the value of life is measured by how long it lasts, and IÂ’m telling you that you are so very wrong. Even after reading that vile piece of hateful garbage you wrote, I hope that you live a long life anyway, since that is apparently all you treasure. If there is one thing that Paul has taught me, itÂ’s that life is too short and too uncertain to hold grudges, especially against a fool like yourself.

Posted by: Ted at 10:05 PM | category: Boring Stories
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