Life: Remarkable & unpredictable.

I have a neighbor -- oops, no, I had a neighbor. He was found dead over the weekend. Floating face down in Forest Lake. Probably drowned. The autopsy will tell. He was 51. Went out routinely. Alone. On his pontoon boat. For a swim. Maybe he had a heart attack. Or a stroke. His dog was found swimming in the middle of the lake. Exhausted. But safely rescued. I didn't know the guy. Never formally met him. Built a plush new home on the lake three years ago. He lived six doors up the road. Left a wife. And two children. A son and a daughter. The son is 22. Confined to a wheelchair. With cerebral palsy. Learned from the obituary that the guy was a sports enthusiast. A fan. People coming to the funeral have been encouraged to wear the jerseys of their favorite sports teams. I'd wear a Chicago Cubs shirt. But I won't go. Don't feel like it. Anyway, I seldom go to funerals. Even funerals of friends. I don't wanna a funeral. When my dear sweet Jeanne died, there was no funeral. I pay homage in other ways. Through solitary thought. Anyway, my neighbor was originally from Bismarck. In North Dakota. My sister used to live in Bismarck. I'll have to ask her if she knew the guy. That would be quite a coincidence. If she did. But one thing I know. The world is a small place. So very many coincidences. And unusal and unexpected happenings. One can be here on Mother Earth one day. And gone the next. Just by accident. One goes out for a swim. And drowns. It even happens to good swimmers. Fate, I guess. Puts a family into mourning. But the survivors. Well, they get on with life. I've learned that. Yes, life is remarkable. And unpredictable. --Jim Broede