(This could be a throwaway post since I'm tired and not at 100% right now (sinus infections rock), but I've had something on my mind all day that I need to get out.)
If you know me at all, you know that hockey is pretty much my religion. My interest in other sports (as with so many other things in my life) wanes but I can never get enough hockey. This off-season has been a terrible one for the hockey community. Two active players and one recently retired player have died since the regular season ended in April. One of those deaths was an accidental overdose, the other two were reportedly suicides. All three players were what's known in the game as "enforcers"; guys who weren't tremendously skilled but made it in the league because of their toughness and size. They were grinders whose job it was to protect their more skilled teammates. Not at all a glamorous job but it was a living made while playing a game they loved. Those deaths were tough to take, especially since two of them brought about their own ends. The last of these players died only about a week ago. Then today comes news of a terrible plane crash in Russia that killed an entire hockey team, including several popular former NHL players. I've followed the careers of two of these players because they played a few seasons for the team that I follow. I'm not sure if that's why I'm so down about the news of their deaths or if there's more to it but either way, it has been a terrible off-season that cannot end soon enough.
Most people fear death at some point in their lives or at least wonder how and when they'll make their exit. I've never really understood that. I'm a big believer in fate so I feel like whether I live five more minutes or fifty more years has already been preordained. I figure death is coming eventually whether we fear it or not so why stress about it? But today I've been thinking about the 43 people who died in this plane crash and how...I guess fleeting life can be. Obviously no one could've known what was gonna happen but it's so weird to me that 24 hours ago these people were just living their lives. They said goodbye to their girlfriends or wives and kids and got on a routine flight to play some hockey and never made it. Nobody had any idea that it would be the last flight they'd ever board. And now their families have to get over the shock and learn to live without their loved ones. And that is a terrible thing to have to deal with.
