There are three words that, when used together, change everything. If you think you know which three they
are you’d be wrong. It’s not “I love you”….although those certainly
are life changing words. It isn’t the
cheery “please come again” cashiers
chirp as you exit a store. It’s not
even the three words that strike fear in every heart, “some assembly required”.
These three words are the real game changers…they are ”the last time”.
The last time is a phrase that carries varying degrees of
distress with it. “The last time I saw
my car keys”….uh-oh. “When was the last
time you made a payment?…..hmmm. “I remember the last time your mother stayed
for a week”…..oh, yeah. String them together and these words cause us to turn around and look back. It's a sneaky phrase, and the worst part is that you often don’t know
it’s the last time when it’s in progress.
For me 2014 has seen the loss of some very dear and very
long time friends. A couple of the losses
were shocking…a couple expected….none was welcome. As we confront the finality of death we are
also left to deal with “the last time”.
The last time I saw my friend Linda was last February. Larry
and I were returning from spending a month in Florida and, just as we had the
year before, we stopped in to visit on our way through her town. We spent a couple of hours together, laughing
and remembering old times. I shared with
her my most vivid memory of her when we were young. I imagine we might have been twelve or
thirteen, gathered around one of the many bon fires I was lucky enough to enjoy
in her back yard. We toasted
marshmallows on long, sharpened sticks and she sang a Beetles song, “Give me
Money” as the fires light played across our faces. She smiled at the memory, surprised I even
remembered those bon fires on the long ago fall evenings. As I hugged her goodbye I didn’t realize it
was for the last time.
My friend Chris and I met two others for dinner once a month
to catch up on what was going on in each of our lives. We grew up together in the old neighborhood,
went to school together and stayed in touch for more years than I like to
admit. At dinner she talked about her
coming trip to Arizona, it would be a welcome break from the frigid Ohio winter,
and we would all catch up with one another in the spring. We all hugged and raced off into the cold
winter evening. It was the last time I ever saw her…if only I had known I’d
have taken more time, soaked up more memories.
Going through my Face Book friends list the other evening I
realized there several who are now gone. People with whom I’ve worked over the
years…high school classmates…close friends and relatives…gone. With each one I had a “last time” encounter,
even if it was an instant message. Not
even once did I recognize it might be the very last time I saw or connected
with this person.
Thirteen years ago today approximately three thousand
Americans did not know it would be the last time they saw their family or loved
ones. As those people poured into the
towers for what seemed like just another work day, they had no idea their names
would go down in history as one of the victims of a heinous act of
terrorism. The scenes of those planes
striking the buildings, of people fleeing for their lives as brave police and
firemen running toward the chaos, will be with me the rest of my life. If we learned anything at all from the
tragedy it might just be to always be mindful of “the last time”
.
Pray for our country, hold your loved ones close, and
celebrate your friendships so that when “the last time” comes you will have
left nothing unsaid.
Remember
9/11/200l
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