La muerte--never takes a holiday after all
There was a guy from Asunción Paraguay--a place I have never been. Our paths used to cross on a regular basis for the last 3 decades or so. I think his English was OK, but I never really bothered to find out. Nice guy, laid back, never anything but straight and honest with me, we could talk about the job, or philosophy, or traveling the world (he did even more of it than I do). He used to call me every now and then from Paraguay (no one else ever called me from a 00595 prefix), just to chat and tell me when and where he next planned to be in the States, and was I gonna be there?
He was maybe 5 to 10 years younger than I--it struck me that I never asked. I just found out that he dropped dead (heart attack, I presume--he did smoke) last Sunday. I got a brief note from his daughter, since I was on his speed dial.
So, I won't see him again on any future visits to the States. I will never get to take him up on his standing invitation to visit him in Paraguay ("¡Te muestro Argentina, tambien!" ).
Damn. This is starting to happen too often, and ALWAYS to the wrong people.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I told him I’m getting to the point where if I see a family member or a friend I only get to see occasionally, I wonder if that will be the last time.
I’m not THAT old, early 70’s, and we do have longevity in our family. It’s just when you begin to hear about acquaintances that have passed, you begin to think about it.
So sorry you’ve lost a friend. 
