Remembering

A character in a book I'm reading makes the point that as long as someone remembers you, you continue to live after your death. Her concern and curiosity rested on wanting to know who would remember her last. She spent some time elegantly postulating on what final memory would be the last remembrance that she walked upon the earth.

It's an interesting question.

I've spent some time this morning remembering people that I respect and love that have passed away. To my embarrassment and dread, it is the first time in a long time that I have thought of some of them at length. I promise myself to think of them more often.

Then, there are those whom I never knew, but whose passing I mourn as their lives touch mine years later. It seems tragically unfair to meet someone and be changed by them years after their death.

Inevitably, my thoughts turn to those who pass away unremembered. Because it is a function of my work, I think about this population almost daily. Will my thinking of them be the last remembrances of their lives. God, I hope not.