Hey Kids,

I’m not sure if there are people who wish to live forever.

I don’t mean in the Spiritual, Heaven-dwelling living forever. I mean by not dying. At least not for a long time. I know that no one really wishes to die young but with the average lifespan for men at 72 and 76 for women; are most people OK with that?

I’m not obsessed with death and I don’t really worry about when it’ll come. I hope not for a while and I hope it surprises me when it does. I agree with the late Olympian Bob Richards who wished to be shot at an old age by a jealous husband.

But when death comes, I hope to be remembered for at least a little while. I hope a few people are sad to see me go, or maybe know there will be a few who will miss me on the holidays. More importantly, I hope I did something worth remembering which is more important than being remembered.

I’m amazed by some people and the legacy they leave behind. The fact that their names and feats are remembered for years, centuries, and millenniums after they are gone; is remarkable. It’s never for the person just being a good person, but for what they accomplished and for what they did for humanity- sometimes good, sometimes bad.

But only one person I know of lived a life so respected that even his arm, when lost in battle, got its own grave marker. General Stonewall Jackson. He may have fought a losing war for a lost cause, but he did it with a style that’s still remembered today. He held his ground and inspired those around him to do the same.

Over 150 years later, I tip my hat.

Day 176