Kind of fitting that my next post is (ahem) sobering. Literally. (And for the record I had 2 very tasty caesars which met my needs for that flavor. Nice to have tasted it though. I think more than anything I like the salted rim as opposed to the drink itself!)

Got a sobering email today. One that I didn't expect to receive. A friend of mine is sick and in care. I just never expected that to happen when we're in our thirties. Twenty years from now I may have seen that coming but not now.

I've been reflecting on this for some time - just how many of our grad class got sick with various illnesses and whether we are statistically over-average. Are we? I can think of probably 6 people (from our grade class of what, <100> people?) who I know either in their late teens or twenties were diagnosed with things like arthritis or MS or cancer. MS affects one in 700 people. Rheumatoid arthritis 1-2% of the population and juvenile arthritis one in one THOUSAND. Maybe I just find it unfair how undiscerning diseases like this are. Maybe in the city we lived in /out of the several other highschools there were this is normal. Maybe other local grad classes could relate to the same stats. I dunno. Not that these things stop you from living more or less normally. Things like arthritis and MS slow you down, rearrange your priorities, change how you LIVE but for the most part I think can be "managed" ...??

What a weird week though eh? All this news (or focus in the news) of Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson. Didn't see that one coming. One of the reporters on TV last night covering Michael's death was asking people why they were shocked. He said he as frail and looked unwell, but hey- first off he's a celebrity which means he can afford the best health care. And secondly he has always been thin and pale. Everyone I talk to was shocked.

Just as a point though, it doesn't matter celebrity or not your health will determine your quality of life regardless of who you are. We're all human. We're all experiencing this thing called Life.

Don't take your health for granted!!!