Olding by Carolyn

 The Sad Side of Olding "It's a shame folks has to die, idn't it?" ~my grandmother after yet another one of her friends passed away. She outlived everyone she loved, except me. People do die. That's the sad side. This week, a friend's husband died. I remember the day she told us (The Girlfriends) that her husband, Ralph, had pancreatic cancer. Anyone who didn't already know could find out with an easy search, that pancreatic cancer is nasty business. Not many people survive it, and remissions are rare. Ralph lasted nine months from diagnosis to death. He never got to the acceptance phase. Today, on a whim, I did a Google search for the husband of one of my closest friends from high school. We haven't been in touch for several years. I used to call her on her birthday, but for the past few years, she had a hard time carrying on a conversation. Another friend said it was because she was stressed from caring for her husband who had dementia. In my search,...