Saying Goodbye

I love history. I adore anyone who is my elder. No, I really do. The amazing and exciting things they have seen. I could sit for hours listening to anyone of an older generation regale me with stories of their lifetime; particularly their youth.

When it comes to history I am, by my lonesome, a captive audience. The incredible things that have happened in this world before I ever came into existence amaze and intrigue me like nothing else. The elder generations astound me. I have spent my days talking to people who have lived nearly a century and find them beyond interesting. Our greatest treasures are those who have superseded our years and can still recall it all with clarity and color.

I am beside myself with sadness after having visited with an amazing and awesome soul this evening, as she lie breathing her last earthly breaths. I am a far more complete and worldly individual for having know this magnificent human being. Ninety-four years is incomprehensible to me at forty-two. Yet the year I was granted to interact and get to know this woman was a gift I will never forget being bestowed.

The weekly visits were some of the few moments I consider highlights in the reel of my lifetime. My solace comes from the knowledge that my life has been enriched beyond any expectations by a woman who has seen change and done things I could never imagine. What a life and a legacy you leave my dear Alta. I thank you for bestowing me with a gift I can never repay. The weeks to come will be lacking, though you will be in my heart and mind.

Those who have lived beyond our own years have so much to offer and should be revered like no one else. History is best when it is a living, breathing example...without a doubt. There is little I wouldn't give to be able to go back in time with this woman and see the orange groves she grew up in the way she saw them. To sit beneath the fig tree with her friend or to experience the early twentieth century as she did. What a crazy, intense and beautiful life.

While I am sad our time has come to end, I am grateful for the gift of seeing you one last time. You are and forever will be one of my favorite encounters in this life, Alta. Go peacefully into the afterlife and spread joy throughout eternity.