do the right thing

[HowardH]

Once in a great while, unfortunately, we are reminded about just how fragile our presence can be on this earth.  My neighbor who lived behind me, a good friend, passed away suddenly last week at the age of 48.  He had a massive blood clot break off and travel to his lung and that was it.  He knew he had this problem and it was probably only  a matter of time before the bomb went off.  He leaves behind a wife, an 11 year old son, a kid in still in college and a daughter who just graduated from college.  It was bad enough he died the way he did.  He was a former eagle scout, very active in his church and had a huge turnout at his funeral.  How could it be worse?  He died virtually without life insurance.  Now, his wife just told me, she will more than likely have to sell their home and maybe move in with her mother to save expenses.  For being such a great guy, (he was) he didn't do the one thing we all should do - protect our families against the unexpected.  I know he could have prevented this, I was his insurance agent.  He had a policy but decided to let it go a few years ago against my advice.  Because of this shortsightedness, his wife is facing some very tough decisions.  We never know when our time is up.  Insurance is so inexpensive these days so there isn't an excuse not to the right thing.  This is a great time of year to look at where you are financially and to see what you need to do to make sure you don't put your family at risk if you should die before your time.  Go online or call your local agent and get 8-10 times your income.  It's the greatest gift you can ever give your family.  Do the right thing.