Profound Thoughts.

Mrs. Just Dave is out of town taking care of her mother and I am sitting around with too much time on my hands. I was thinking about when we lived in Lubbock, Texas, a place that makes a pancake look hilly. My youngest son, who was around 4 or 5 had a hamster that he really enjoyed taking care of and playing with. Of course, one morning we awoke and found that, sometime during the night, Fred the hamster has crossed over to Beulah Land.

My son was upset but not hysterical. We found a proper coffin ( a shoe box), packed with some sewing scraps and laid Fred to rest, with all due ceremony, in the back yard, deep enough so the dog couldn't disinter him for a snack. Afterwards, my son asked, "Why did Fred die?". We sat and I explained to him the nature of life and death, that for every birth, we owe a death back. It is not something to worry about or be afraid, it is just a fact of existence. I could see the conflict on his face as he worked this information over in his head. I thought he was wondering if even Mom and Dad and even he had to die someday. When he finally spoke, he said, "You mean even the damn flies die without being swatted?" Like I say, profound thoughts.