Six Years' Worth Of Difference

I went to a funeral yesterday and saw a man I used to play poker with. He dropped out of poker about six years ago. We chatted a moment and I was able to compare his life in 2012 and his life now.

THEN: He worked as a salesman in the recreational field. His products were meant for fun and he traveled through six states to sell them. He took his Jack Russel terrier with him on every trip and drove a luxury car. All his money went for fun only because he lived in a condo owned by his family's business. He played poker weekly and while he didn't have women fawning all over him, he scored the occasional hookup.

NOW: Married for five years. First child is healthy, The second. a girl, has a telethon-worthy condition that requires constant medical intervention and, unless research changes, will kill her sometime in her twenties-to-forties. He removed the custom bar he had built in the house and it's now the playroom. His wife, while very nice, seems to have some condition to her spine. She was holding her neck at an angle that I have never seen another human do. I know he loves his family, but it appears he has a long road ahead of him.

No, your former poker buddy doesn't have a long road ahead of him. Caregivers do not live as long as noncarers. They frequently die late middle age of elements that usually strike the elderly.

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Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

He had it really really good six years ago and now it sounds like he is in utter hell. He went from tons of freedom to what sounds like will be permanent care giving. Maybe a shorter/shortened life will be more merciful.

At first I read this as you were attending the funeral of a former poker buddy..and after reading about his situation I was surprised he wasn't the one in the coffin.

I am not sure who would mention “seeing Lonnie” at a funeral, if it was Lonnie’s own funeral. Must be a regional thing.

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deanad
I am not sure who would mention “seeing Lonnie” at a funeral, if it was Lonnie’s own funeral. Must be a regional thing.

Just inattentive reading.

I also read it as the funeral of a friend but that was because his life 6 years ago is essentially over with, so more of what resembles an existentialist crisis. I can only hope he doesn't view his life the same way I do.