My dad is 79 years old, and still going strong at this point.  He's had prostate cancer and a mild stroke, from which his recovery is amazingly complete.  No reason now for me not to think he has years, even decades of life left.

Same for my mom, 80 and going strong.  Yet I've thought about the death of my parents a lot - surely there is some fear of it involved.  I've thought about it so much that it really does not seem fearful any longer; it is inevitable, after all, and if nothing else I'm just used to the idea now.  I've thought about what I would say at their funerals hundreds, perhaps thousands of times.

I've been a lucky man, and also a foolish man, for much of my life.  I've chased things and engaged in excesses where I didn't even know what I was chasing.  So, after nearly 6 decades of life, I've come to the place where I know how important family and friends are.  Some people know right away what love is, and never lose track of it.  Some of us take a long time.  I think that poetry and short prose is the best way for me to share with other people.