Saturday, August 18, 2007

All those lost yesterdays


I was surfing a site I like to visit called Find A Grave. It has biographies and information about famous and not so famous people, where they are buried and other interesting facts about their lives. Usually I surf through the famous graves - mostly actors and actresses - as I recognize many of these people from watching TV and movies throughout my life.

As I was surfing through the names it occurred to me just how many of these people I recognized from the past and then it occurred to me that all these people were dead! I didn't realize that time has a way of passing quickly and all those men, women and even a few children I remember seeing on TV and the movies are all gone.

For example I didn't know that the actor who played the son of Captain Kirk in the first Star Trek movie was dead. Neither did I realize the guy who was the shopkeeper on Sesame Street for all those years was dead - but he is! Hell, over 50% of the actors and actresses I remember watching on TV or at the movies when I was a kid are dead - it still seems hard to believe - and I don't necessarily understand why I feel that way. There were many examples of this occurring every time I clicked on a new name. I didn't even recognize some of the names but I remembered the people from the pictures they post with their Biography.

Anyway, as I was looking and seeing how all those famous people have had their lives end it made me realize it wasn't all that long ago I was watching them on TV. Made me realize time flies and maybe that is a sign to do some things I've been wanting to do now, before its too late. I know that my kids, now 10 and 11, will be gone and out of the house in no time really, so NOW is the time to be with them. Not that I wasn't doing that mind you, but it reinforced by commitment to spending quantity and quality time with my kids. It also made me realize that both my parents don't have much time left at 77 years old.

In the fullness of time an individuals own lifespan is meaningless, not even a drop in the bucket in the big picture. What it did the most though was bring home the importance of the here and now, and that "seize the day" really is a meaningful expression. With all those lost yesterdays in my life, now is the time to act and make the most of the opportunities that come my way.

Cause in in the end, no one knows what tomorrow will bring. If you want to visit the website I was talking about click here