On Sunday, August 8th I had gone for a very nice bike ride in the afternoon. As I biked back along the river path, I noticed just how beautifully the late afternoon light reflected off of the water. I could only catch teasing glimpses through the thicket of trees and bushes between the path and the river, but I felt happy and content. This was really a perfect summer.

I dismounted my bike as I pulled into my driveway, and noticed that our neighbors in both of the houses to our right were working on home-improvement projects. I felt a twinge of guilt. I had done nothing all weekend other than the chores we all must do every week, and have fun. We had done almost nothing in the way of home improvement since we'd moved in three years ago. But I had enjoyed my ride.

For some reason, I checked my email soon after I got home. Waiting in my mailbox was an email from the head of our division stating that Sandy had died of "natural causes" in her sleep. A memorial service had already been arranged. I sat there in shock, reading and re-reading the message. It didn't make sense. I did not understand how someone Sandy's age (around 55) could die of "natural" causes.

I noticed that Ian's current co-worker, and Sandy's old employee, Mike Nowak, was available on instant messaging, so I messaged him asking whether he'd heard about Sandy. He hadn't, and was equally shocked. Then I went to Google and typed in "natural causes". About ten stories about people dying of "natural causes" were listed, and I read each one, looking for clues about "natural causes".

Only two stories explained the deaths any further. One story was about a young boy who'd been on a hiking trip with a group of people. He'd kept falling further and further behind. Some others stayed with him so he wouldn't be alone. Then, he suddenly dropped to the ground, stopped breathing, and was dead. The other story explained that a 20- or 21-year-old man had dropped dead, and it was later determined that one of the arteries feeding his heart was 70 or 80 percent clogged. So I realized that natural causes was a pretty broad category, and seemed to refer to conditions that were not previously known, but were not accidents.

I thought about my guilt upon returning from my bike ride, and suddenly felt very glad I'd ridden. Sandy's death made it clear that there were no guarantees that there would be a tomorrow. I enjoyed biking; it was summer; and nothing made me happier in the summer than to be outside biking or hiking. Then I thought about my friend John, who has been unable to find time to pursue one of his joys because of having too much work to do.

I wanted to tell him to quit putting it off and pursue his passion, because there was no guarantee that he'd be able to when things "got better", as he kept saying he was hoping they'd do. I called his cell phone number, but got his voice mail. I couldn't say what I'd been thinking to a recording, so I just told him he should check his email in case he hadn't. He is chronically behind on email.

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