On being remembered, or maybe forgotten

As I hover near my ninth decade, I sometimes wonder how I might be remembered - and for what.

The answer is, of course, that beyond the few who knew me, I won't be remembered at all. I'm fine with that.

Indeed, of the billions who have lived and died, how many have made the history books?

Take the bright example of Charles G. Dawes (1865-1951):

Successful businessman, employer of thousands, vice president of the United States, Winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James's and composer of a No. 1 hit song.

Impressive, yes. Yet who in the general population has any notion of that well-lived life?

We would all like to make a difference. Certainly Mr. Dawes did. But Elisabeth Kübler-Ross takes us deeper:

'The only important thing in life is how well we have loved other people.”

That's a difference we can all make. Maybe the rest is just amusement.

Lorna Lewers

Cedar Rapids