dead alone

When I walked out of my apartment door yesterday, I saw two police officers down the hallway at a neighbor's open door. Apparently the reason why this neighbor had late rent notices on his front door the past several weeks was because he was dead. No, this is not the 'alarming neighbor' from my blog post yesterday - though I would've thought he would be the first to go on our floor. This was John. He was 70. And he died all alone.

The cops mentioned that they were still confirming that he died of natural causes. I asked around how they finally found out he was dead, but nobody knew... even the doorman shrugged his shoulders. Everyone just stated the obvious - that John kept to himself. I have to say that I am a bit surprised that his next door neighbor (who had probably lived next to him for at least 10 years) never realized something was wrong. But then again, I can't even say for sure I know what John looks like.

This reminded me how important it is to have close family and friends around. It makes me appreciate the friends that panic a bit when I don't return their calls within a few hours. But then again, a few hours may be too late. It takes only minutes to choke to death, and seconds to slip and hit your head against the bathroom sink.

Well, I guess once one dies, the body is just an empty vessel anyways. Though I'd like to believe that I still mattered more to people among the living.

MAN DEAD FOR MORE THAN A YEAR