I saw death this past week. Just briefly. He visited a friend. A friend who welcomed him with open arms. A friend who had lived a very good life, but at the end, was tired. And sad. Sad that he had cheated death long after all his friends had embraced the grim reaper.
But it was not the grim reaper that came, but a welcome friend. The last one he knew. His life had been full, yet now it was empty. All the people he had known were gone. The sports heros and entertainers he had grown up with long ago passed away. And he felt alone. His family (children) were still around, and he loved them dearly. But they had lives of their own. And he was but a burden.
Death came not as thief in the night, but as - at long last - a welcome friend. He is with his loved ones now. With the people he grew up with, and the people he looked up to. The ones he cheered on, the ones that cheered him on.
And in the end, I can think of no more fulfilling life - and ultimately the last act of life, death - for a person to have lived.
Go with friends and family long past my friend. And rest in peace.