The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Due to some #WithoutHealthcare tweets of mine, I got mentioned on Citizen Slant and Twitter's "Moments," which can be seen at these two links: http://citizenslant.com/healthcare-access-tweets/ https://twitter.com/i/moments/820420950973972481

Yesterday I noted I lost a friend of mine to cancer late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, and as always during such times, it really made me pause to think about my life and life in general. Since he was only given 6 months to live initially and lasted 7 years, it was quite miraculous for him to have lived as long as he did, yet at the same time, it's difficult to believe that final chapter of his life has actually closed. It's somewhat reminiscent to my grandfather, who passed in February of this year. The guy had been in and out of the hospital for 5-10 consecutive years it seemed, yet regardless of the complications, he always seemed to battle through them and be around when I was back in town over the holidays. I guess no matter how hard we mentally and emotionally try to prepare for the loss of a loved one, it's never enough to fully brace ourselves for the deep impact we'll feel when they finally do pass. It's quite different to imagine life without a pers...