a link

 It's rather a sobering thing when you realize you are the last link to the past. It doesn't happen to everyone; it depends upon the size of your family and how close that family was. What I mean is, if connections had been formed in the first place. Even then, those connections may have been limited to a certain length of time. Older siblings leaving home sometimes lose that connection. At other times people become estranged. However it comes about, it is still a sobering thing. 

 I remember my mom talking about that. She outlived nine brothers and sisters. She was the last direct connection to that past. I knew a number of the aunts and uncles, knew Grandma and some cousins. I heard many stories from all of them, but I certainly wasn't there. And being there is what I'm talking about. First person accounts. When you are the last "first" person to tell the story it is a responsibility. There are occasions when your presence is requested for that very reason. You are a connection to a past. The last connection. You serve as a sort of proxy for those that are gone. You represent that past. You are the last with that first-hand knowledge and a reminder of what was. A simple, isn't that right, and you are expected to respond. It's a trust. A trust given to you by circumstance. 

 The story of the sole survivor is always an interesting one. We usually associate that with surviving some disaster. The reason is simply because we want to hear that story. Just how did you survive. With everyday life however that isn't the case at all. You survive by circumstance or just sheer luck. There is no explanation for any of that. We think about it, we have sayings about that, only the good die young and thoughts like that. We always question why. We question why when it is an accident, a disease, a natural disaster or suicide. Why? When it is the result of old age however, we accept that as the reason. They were very old and had a long life. It is the acceptance of a reality; we will all die. There is no sole survivor.

 It's my thinking that being the last can be a reward or a punishment. Only the individual can know which, Is it a burden? If it is that burden was created by yourself, by your choices and actions. Or do you feel an obligation? That obligation being to pass forward whatever it is from the past you feel valuable. How to decide, to discriminate between the two, is the challenge. The challenge being to provide a synopsis. How to distill years into moments. 

 An example of that is often seen in the movies when the dying star gives those final words. Sometimes that happens in real life too. Einstein's last words were, “It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share; it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” That was his synopsis of his life. For those of us that are that last connection we are expected to provide a synopsis of those that came before. We are their proxy. It's an obligation. That's my thought anyway. When our lives are through that is what is left, moments. All time is relative.