Another friend is dying. Betty is 88 years old. We are not close friends, but she is a member of my lifedrawing group. I have seen her almost every Tuesday for, I think, two years. A talented artist, she was a WAVE in World War II. I visited her yesterday and found her in a cheerful mood, even tho in pain. A great gal. What a life she has had; what changes she has seen! Her death too is a loss. Talking to the elderly is like traveling in a time machine. When they are gone, the time machine no longer goes to that particular time and place. This too is senseless.

A classic theme in Northern art. Vanitas. Death woos the maiden, who shrinks from him. But, he holds her fast.
Italian poet Cesare Pavese wrote:
Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi ochi. (Death is coming and will have your eyes.)
"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
Is all senseless?