I've had a sobering phone call... the son of a friend and fellow I used to work with has died suddenly.
He had just spend a couple of days at his Dad's cottage fishing and was traveling back to his home in another town... when 45 minutes into the trip he collided head-on with a logging truck.
He usually makes the trip every second week during the summer. The family call him sometime shortly after his expected arrival to make sure he has arrived safely. They called and called... no answer. By this time the accident had long since been over but I guess he wasn't carrying sufficient information for the police to be able to contact the family.
So finally out of worry Dad calls the provincial police to see if any accidents have been reported along his route and if the description of his son and car fits... he gets the news everyone dreads to hear. Somehow he picks himself up and drives down to make positive identification... hoping all the way down it really isn't his son.
Enjoying life with expectations of good times to come, in this case more trips to the cottage and fishing... and gone the next in an instant. He was only 35 years old and had just recently gotten things together for himself with a new home and a decent job. His future was bright.
One of the effects on those of us left behind is a reconsideration of our priorities and attitude. This one has really struck home with me and seems to make certain nonsense very unimportant.