as a member of a fraternity we lose a casual friend about once a year to age and the obits put the passing in perspective. it's recognized, recorded, and then t

as a member of a fraternity we lose a casual friend about once a year to age and the obits put the passing in perspective. it's recognized, recorded, and then they are missed, but it's rarely traumatic of tragic. there is a moment of silence for them and maybe we do a funeral service and everyone moves on. the obits are always so much smaller than the memory of person was. it puts our own horizon in perspective. life without us everywhere continues. i used to say I wanted to make the obits in the economist, but now I'd be content to have left some of this better than I found it, like a campsite, a trail, or a relationship. brothers of the dust, as it were.