"We Are Orphans, Now"

Bud and his Mom, Lottie Schaffer

Ten years ago, after his mother had passed away, I happened to run into Doug Olive and his sisters, Cathy and Debbie at 'Breakfast at the Beach' at Lake Icaria. We chatted some, remembering when we were neighbors and school mates at Jasper # 2 and about his parents. I told him I was sorry about his Mom, Shirley's, death. That was when he said, "Yes, we are orphans, now."
At the time, I thought it was a rather strange thing for an adult to say. I always thought of orphans as being children. It wasn't until my own Mother died two years later that I began to understand what he meant - how he was feeling.
Until around 1:00 a.m. this morning, Bud and I still had one parent left. Lottie celebrated her 91st birthday two weeks ago. Now she has gone on. There is no one left between us and our own mortality.

"We are orphans, now."