> I consider myself to be a fairly deep thinker. Tonight (3:20 am, Pacific Time), I'm thinking about the past. Not the distant past, events that occurred many years ago, but my past life, in particular. Now, I just graduated from high school, and every time I hear either of the songs used in my grad ceremony, I get sorta depressed, remembering the past five years.
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> What's sad, I suppose, is that what happened in the past will never happen again. That can be a very strong statement...what each and every one of us has experienced, is never going to happen again. The bad times, the good times...they're all once in a lifetime. It's ironic, isn't it, that remembering the good times can hurt the most. Especially when those times and experiences involve someone who has passed on, never to be seen again. It's also sad to think that, over the course of our lives, we're going to forget much of what happens to us.
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> All that's ever happened over the course of history...eventually, it's all going to fade into obscurity. Oh, with some events, it'll take longer, because they're etched in the minds of most, if not all, humans around today. But they'll all fade, sooner or later. Nothing lasts forever, after all.
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> Heck, in truth, most of this post is just the ramblings of a somewhat depressed guy in his late teens, but maybe it really means something to someone. Eventually, I'll forget this post as well. But if someone actually reads this, just remember. That's it, just remember. Remember whatever you can of your life, and know this: though nothing you remember will ever happen again, at least you CAN remember them...and in that sense, they'll live on forever.

If you are thinking like that now, when you get to be my age, you'll be in Big trouble. When I think about my high school years, back in the middle of the 20th century, I usually laugh a lot.
Sometimes I think about my friend, Lee who died at 24, but I think about the fun stuff. It's the same with my friend Nathan, who died at 42. But I still have George and Bob, both recently retired and enjoying it as much as I am. We're planning a reunion.
I'll never forget the time Lee and I put on suits and ties and crashed a Vanderbilt frat party at the old Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. We were the youngest people in the ballroom, but we got away with it for over an hour. Then they politely tossed us out. Those Vandy guys could afford a really good band. I almost never think of all those times when Lee turned blue and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Just think of the past as a preview of coming attractions. The best times lie ahead.
Howard