There is no secret to anyone (all 3 of you) who regularly reads my stuff, that I struggle with mortality. Today there was just another smack in the face that things come to a close much too quickly. William Hurt, the actor, passed at 71. Why, you ask is that any more significant than a million other passages for me? I’ll tell you…….first, I’m going to turn 70 in August….so it’s too damn close to home…the scary part is I feel better pushing 70 than I did pushing 50, also I’m so happy with all things going on in my life…kids that are growing into their own lives, grandkids that are firebrands, living in an area where a “freeze warning” lasts for about 6 hours, and then a cold morning means it won’t hit mid 50’s till 11 am

Second…when my daughter was playing at Julliard, what now seems like a million years ago, my son and I were on line at the cafeteria having breakfast and just in front of us was William Hurt and his son, also having breakfast. A few years prior, my wife and I had been at the Willamstown Theater Festival and I ran into Chris Reeve (in the bathroom of all places)….when I mentioned that to my wife (now my ex, not for this reason) she immediately asked “did you get his autograph?”….when I said no, it would have not been the best time given the location, she simply sighed…So when I saw William Hurt, I went up to him and said…”I know this is totally obnoxious, but….”and I told him the Chris Reeve story and mentioned that my then wife was a huge fan and would kill me if I didn’t at least ask for his autograph…he smiled (while waiting for his omelet) asked if I had anything to sign….I actually had a business card and when I handed it to him he wrote….”please don’t kill your husband…Bill Hurt”…

I will never forget how friendly and how gracious he was and that is one of the reasons that notification of his passing has hit me so hard. Add that to my struggle with aging and the like and it hits like a ton of bricks….

I’ll leave this with the closure that I currently feel great, am loving life, have a fabulous partner in all of this…(yes, Susan, that’s you!!) and continue to plan, as I always told the kids at school when they asked, that 146 is how long I’m planning on!!! and in the passage, I’ll keep madly dancing…..