i was all set to indulge in morose reflections this weekend — i had been battered by a passel of negative news lately: family matters, my lackluster financial state, lack of significant developments, etc. (with a couple of bright spots to avert a total shutout) — when i got a sobering text from a friend about her dad’s sudden demise (due to cardiac arrest).

unfortunately,  i was still asleep when the text came (i had an overnight office session with this recalcitrant file), so it was hours before i was finally able to call her to offer my condolences. as expected, she sounded depressed and barely to able to rise past her grief. i struggled to find the right words to express my sympathy (and i have a feeling that i may have failed there miserably), and promised to call her again soon.

*sigh* needless to say, this event threw me into deeper gloom.

on a brighter note though, it made me realize just how trivial (relatively speaking) some of my current issues were — heavy workload, finances, uncertain prospects. it made me realize that despite our daily preoccupations, life goes on, with all its attendant joys, sorrows, heartbreak, and endless opportunities for change.

to my friend and her family, our deepest condolences.

this year’s list of obituaries keeps getting crowded by world-famous names and not-so-famous ones — some of them in the prime of their life, others lingering in their twilight years, and a few who have not been heard or seen of in recent years.

and yet, even as we half-expect some of them to breach their last ticker tape sooner or later, there’s always a measure of shock and bewilderment when you actually hear about their passing. such is the impact of death on our consciousness that everything else pales in comparison when you’re forced to acknowledge once more just how fragile and capricious life can be.

so far this year, we have lost michael jackson, farrah fawcett, cory aquino, francis magalona, and recently, ted kennedy (the last of the remarkable kennedy brothers) just 2 weeks after his sister eunice kennedy passed on.

on a personal note, we also lost someone very dear recently in our family: gen. eprudito magno — a cousin by marriage who left this mortal vale last july after a lengthy bout with diabetes. i haven’t had much time to interact with him these past few years, but i will always remember him as a concerned, quick-thinking guy who calmly pulled out this ugly, rusty 2-inch nail protruding out of a terrified 7-year-old’s foot. the wound healed quickly enough, but that memory will linger with me all my life. rest in peace, nong prudit.

we still have 4 months to go before 2009 is over. but now, i’m wondering if the list still means to add a few more notable names. (*knock on wood*) still, i guess if it’s your time to go… there’s not much you can do about it.

We who are left how shall we look again
Happily on the sun or feel the rain
Without remembering how they who went
Ungrudgingly and spent
Their lives for us loved, too, the sun and rain?

–Wilfred Wilson Gibson