J. Davy Crockett III

In the human experience, there is a great equalizer. No matter who we are, rich or poor, or somewhere in between, everyone has the same amount of it. It is what your life is made of.

Imagine the horror!  A visit to one of the most moving memorials in Washington, DC shattered as a madman rushes in the front door of the building and starts shooting.  It must have been a terrifying few minutes as the gunman exchanged fire with security guards, one of whom was killed.  The shooter, gravely wounded, was subdued and taken into custody, as visitors to the memorial and workers looked on in fear and dismay.

Once, while watching my 13-year-old grandson play a Little League baseball game in an All Star game on a summer’s afternoon, I watched the nation’s favorite pastime unfold in a good example of playing hard by the rules and accepting the outcome graciously. I observed the parents, coaches and umpires enjoying the game, and the lessons of life that the players were learning.

Some folks go through life singing, no matter what their circumstances. Such was a friend of mine, a little lady named Elsie, who died May 8, 2009 at the age of 95. One of the last things she did was to sing a hymn with her friends at her nursing home.

My family walked in the shadow of death this last year.  Not a pleasant subject, to be sure, but one that was thrust upon us nonetheless.  I lost my mother in April, 2008. She was elderly and infirm, and for the last two years of her life suffered from the scourge of Alzheimer's disease.  So, while it was sad to close that chapter, it was not unexpected, nor was it tragic. It was quite naturally her time to die, as it states in book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.