[Mr 5 0]

While we are all vulnerable to death at any age from myriad causes; car accidents to cancer to slipping on a wet floor, we all do need to realize, as Chris does, that we only get one chance here and most of us waste a large part of it on trivial things that don't amount to a hill of beans. We miss a lot of good things in life because of often unreasonable fears and timidness, worrying about the 'what if's' and what other people might think.

We argue, bicker and complain too much and rejoice too little. We sometimes overlook the beautiful to dwell on the sordid and then say that there is no beauty anymore, nothing good, nothing sacred, nothing worthwhile or worth keeping. Not true, of course. We find our treasures in our own way; another person we can love that will love us back, without qualifications or reservations. A child born of love that we can always be proud of. A job well done that cannot be claimed by others or called less than it is, as was the case with Don Vesco and his speed records. These are the real things in life and worth going after with all we have, putting the fears and 'what if's' aside and trusting our own instincts. Apparently, Mr. Vesco was the type of man who did this, and for that, I admire him.

To be totally honest, I never heard of Don Vesco before (I'm not into motorcycles in the slightest) but he sounds like the type of guy who took life by the horns and tried to wrestle it to the ground. A good guy, no doubt. He will be mourned and missed, I'm sure, and I regret his death from cancer as I regret the death of any man or woman that gets less than the bibical three score and ten years, especially when the death is from that terrible disease which we all hate and hope will someday be curable.

Thanks to Chris for the reminder that life is short and thanks to Don Vesco for showing us that it's worth living well.