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This one turned out almost painfully self-absorbed, oh well.

-Buddy Hackett and Katherine Hepburn are dead, and not necessarily in that order. Not that the order is important either. Last in first out, or first in first out, only an accountant would care. The gentlemanly thing would be a lady first, so all right, Katherine and Buddy it is. If that’s too familiar- then it’s Ms. Hepburn and Mr. Hackett. By now everybody should be happy, depending on your perspective.

As a kid death announcements weren’t of any interest- usually never knowing the deceased. Unless it was a relative close enough to get me out of school I didn’t care. Going to a funeral was never any fun, but it was still a day out of school. Death could have an upside. Deaths during summer vacation were such a waste.

Now I’m middle-aged and each death is a black frame on fond memories. Hepburn, Hackett, Peck, Stewart, Berle, Landon, Harrison, Orbison, - I’ve admired some, laughed at a few, and enjoyed them all. They were old friends without ever making their acquaintances.

Entering my own autumn, the leaves of the older generation fall faster and faster. There is sadness at their loss. And there is sadness knowing my generation will soon begin to move through its final burst of color to fall in turn. It is just a matter of time. The clock ticks, the calendar turns, the leaves fall. The ground will catch us all.

When younger, death couldn’t come soon enough. I would pray that I’d die soon, “Please take me home, right now.” Right there is a pretty good indicator of an unhappy childhood. But God is no vending machine; he reserves the right to say “no.” That seemed to be all he had to say. My luck seemed to be worse than Bill Bennett’s. Not realizing it, it was better, God wasn’t saying “no,” he was saying “wait, you can’t believe what’s coming.”

And suddenly I was dating the cutest girl, and she thought I was worth a “yes.” It seemed like a miracle- I was married to her. It still amazes me. Then it was two children as adorable as their mother. Blessings beyond belief, it was worth the wait. Death is no longer something to rush to. Heaven is an eternity; time as a husband and father is only a few ticks. Heaven can wait. God knows it’s nothing personal.

It is a great comfort to be a Christian. Some might mock my faith as wishful thinking, it is not, it is faith. Wishful thinking is wanting something I can’t have. Ask the wife, she has the list. My faith is knowing that heaven is coming, and I’m going there. I believe it because the Bible tells me so.