Tell them now.

Back in the late 70's there was a group of us on motorbikes, the group changed, people came and went, in the beginning though their were 40 of us, all around the same age. Today I heard that one of the original group died from a heart attack in his local pub. That means there are now only 5 of us left, I have no idea about 3 of them, Tony, who informed me of the death of Ray, has had no reply from the email address'es of the other 3. We have to assume that they are still alive though.

Tony and myself and in our early 50's now, this does not bode well for our odds, we did live hard early lives though, 1 of our number was shot dead over a drug deal in Columbia, two were stabbed etc, but strangely only a few died from motorcycle accidents, most died from heroin.

I was very lucky not to end up as an addict, it could so easily gone the other way for me, hearing about the guys go one by one over the years, it does not really sink in, but after my heart scare in January (false alarm) the reality of my advancing years is sinking in. For a long time now I have accepted that one day I shall no longer exist, not believing in a god or an afterlife means that when I die, thats it. Nothing. Having accepted that there is no afterlife for me has made me want to make the most of my life on earth, I treat most people as I would like to be treated and try to enjoy as much of life as I can, there are still places I would like to see, people to meet and new experiences to ..... experience.
My life has been a roller coast ride, there have been some scary downs and some very spectacular highs, I have never regretted anything I have done, you cant go back and you cant catch up, look at your own life, have you done anything to be really proud of? I hope so, most people waste their lives in the pursuit of what they believe will bring happiness, I no longer need to find that elusive piece of nonsense, realising that just to be content is enough.

Let me once more see a spectacular sunset, feel the road as I corner on my bike at high speed, enjoy the camaraderie of good friends, the love of a good woman, the taste of a fine wine. These may be small pleasures to you, but they make my life what it is, tell the people you love that you do love them, tell your friends that you are proud to know them, do it now, while you can, for tomorrow may not be for you.

Jake