Ah, vacation, Part II

A thought struck me (I'll wait a minute to let the laughter subside) that perhaps a driving reason for my vacation choice of visiting family members, as opposed to the beach or some such activity, could be the recent deaths of Tim Russert and Tony Snow, only 58 and 53 years, respectively.
I have always admired and respected these two men, Tony Snow especially, and their untimely demises have bothered me. All the cliches have more meaning now - life is too short, live while you can, etc. - and has caused me to reflect more on what is important in life. I find that work does not rank high on that list, except as a matter of necessity, although I do enjoy what I do, whom I work with, and the company I work for (hey, I'm not complaining!). But I have always worked since I was a teen, and sometimes to the exclusion of those other, intangible things in life, one of which is exploring your roots and knowing your family better. (Or is that 2 things?)
Thus I set off to go visit relatives. It will good to see them all again. At too many funerals I have wished I had known them better. Now's the time to do that.
And this will help them know me better too.

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