I found myself looking around the amusement hall. There were a few other old men sitting around some card tables. Some were shooting pool, and a few more were napping in brown leather lounge chairs.

"OK, let's get to it," Great-Grandfather Battles said.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I shifted nervously in my chair and then took a sip of lemonade.

"It is no secret that I don't have a lot of time left on this earth," he began. He was looking me straight in the eye, and I quickly shifted my gaze to the floor. "It's OK, Ted. At some point, the grass will be waving over all of us. It's the natural way of things."

"I guess so."

He could see that such a matter-of-fact explanation of death did little to salve the pain I still f...

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