Death happens

                Death is inevitable.  It's bound to happen to all of us at one time or another.  Some deaths are more expected than others though it seems to come as a surprise to most.  Such was the case of Dottie,  who was part of the water fitness class.  She didn't go out with our group often when we'd meet at the coffee shop or bakery but had been there a few times including the last when the group had gone to a new cafe for morning breakfast.

        Dottie had given Carolyn her cell phone number and would occasionally make phone calls just before class to find out if she was coming.  Carolyn didn't know her last name.  It didn't appear that any of us did.  When she asked, I wondered and so the news did not surprise me nor affect me the same way as it had Carolyn who had been teaching at a school - I would guess Canyonville as it is her favorite.  She received confirmation about the obituary she'd seen.  She took it hard and started crying and asked to leave her position.

        I liked Dottie.  She was always pleasant and sincere with paying compliments.  I did not have the same sentimental attachment as Carolyn did.  I don't mean to appear callous or unfeeling but my reaction to Dottie's death wasn't any less than it was to Jeanie's or my mom or my dad.  Death happens.  Not everybody has the same reaction to it.  Carolyn and I, for instance, have two very different ways of understanding death.  I don't see it as the final stage of life.  There is a life beyond this planet.  When we leave this mortal existence, we will be reunited with others who have already passed.  But she seems to view death as the absolute end to existence.  But why?  What would be the point of how we live if it all comes to end and all that is left of us is memories for some?   There's got to be a purpose for our existence.

        I remember when Joh's father died, he tried to explain to Corey about "Day of the Dead"; in turn, he tried to explain it to me, though I know I didn't fully get it.  Since Disney's release of "COCO" I'm certain I have a better understanding and appreciation.  It's just one example of life after death.  I don't buy into the floating on clouds and playing harps bit.  I do believe in a greater life after this one.  I do believe that the way we live here on earth will determine our rewards in the hereafter.  Death happens.