I know that it is no newsflash that getting old is only for those who are tough in mind, body and spirit. I thought I was prepared for it. ![[Image: frown.gif]](http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif)
One of those things that I was prepared for was the sorrow of losing my friends. In fact, I lost one last week. In his youth, he was one of those who lived hard, played hard and talked about leaving a good looking corpse. His cocaine runs were amazing.![[Image: rolleye.gif]](http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/images/smilies/rolleye.gif)
His heart was in the right place, though. And his love of children was unfailing. He always made time to talk to and play with the children of his friends. Eventually, he decided to grow up, get married and behave like an adult. He had about three years of that, and died last week of a massive heart attack.
I will miss him.
But a new thing about getting old, something that sucks indeed, has also been forcibly brought to my attention. And that is the sorrow of seeing the shining light of a young person flicker and fail.
I have known this young woman since her birth. She is the daughter of my friends. She is 23 years old. She has a loving husband and a six month old baby. And I learned this weekend that she has been charged with sexual misconduct with a fifteen year old - from an incident in the basement of the church she attends.![[Image: eek.gif]](http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif)
Specifically, she was caught giving him a blow job.
I can't even begin to put into words the feelings that this knowledge evokes. I was uncomfortably aware that she had grown into a very self-absorbed woman. But this catches me very much off-guard. It particularly grieves me because I dearly love her 89-year-old grandmother, who I count as one of my good friends too, and who has already known more family grief than is fair. (As if fair counts, but we still want life to be fair.)
Getting old sucks. It may beat the alternative, but it still sucks.![[Image: rant.gif]](http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/images/smilies/rant.gif)
One of those things that I was prepared for was the sorrow of losing my friends. In fact, I lost one last week. In his youth, he was one of those who lived hard, played hard and talked about leaving a good looking corpse. His cocaine runs were amazing.
His heart was in the right place, though. And his love of children was unfailing. He always made time to talk to and play with the children of his friends. Eventually, he decided to grow up, get married and behave like an adult. He had about three years of that, and died last week of a massive heart attack. I will miss him.
But a new thing about getting old, something that sucks indeed, has also been forcibly brought to my attention. And that is the sorrow of seeing the shining light of a young person flicker and fail.
I have known this young woman since her birth. She is the daughter of my friends. She is 23 years old. She has a loving husband and a six month old baby. And I learned this weekend that she has been charged with sexual misconduct with a fifteen year old - from an incident in the basement of the church she attends.
Specifically, she was caught giving him a blow job.I can't even begin to put into words the feelings that this knowledge evokes. I was uncomfortably aware that she had grown into a very self-absorbed woman. But this catches me very much off-guard. It particularly grieves me because I dearly love her 89-year-old grandmother, who I count as one of my good friends too, and who has already known more family grief than is fair. (As if fair counts, but we still want life to be fair.)
Getting old sucks. It may beat the alternative, but it still sucks.
