Kickass on old men knowing

Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is living proof that Ogen Nash had it right when he wrote: “The old men know when old men die.”  In recent days, two old men died—Wayne Hansen from the keeper’s high school days, and Steve Hopkins from the years when Steve and the keeper were both on the Wisconsin State Journal staff.  Both Wayne and Steve lived long, productive, enjoyable lives, contributing to the survival of the species with great loving families that will miss them.  So the keeper remembers the fun and pleasure of times with these two life-long friends, and he will miss them too, despite not a lot of contact in recent years.  So life goes on, but not for Wayne and Steve, and the keeper knows that.  He does not see this “knowing”as a time for grieving, however, but as a time for doing more to live it up for an age-group that is losing its representation.