Red Smith, the famed sports columnist, wrote that dying is easy. "The least of us will manage that," Red determined. "Living well is the trick."
Ron Curran lived well. No, check that. He lived terrifically. I know because I asked him. Ron was old when I met him and then he had cancer, which aged him in dog years. His health was of particular concern to him, and to me.
"How you feelin’, Ron?" I’d ask him, sometimes twice, every time I saw him.
"Terrific, terrific, terrific," Ron would say. Three terrifics. Every time.
By the time he died, Ron had taught me to play "solid, respectable golf," which is to say I could shoot mid-90s and feel terrific about it.