The recent deaths of Dana Reeve and Kirby Puckett in their mid-forties once again show us just how short life really is and how we must deal with that fact. Both were successful people who should have had many more years of life. However, death comes when it comes and there truly is no set time.

Of course, the shock seeing these two people die makes us look at our own lives. How long do I have? That is a common question and totally appropriate. People often pretend they have "forever" when in reality a person is very lucky to have eighty years. With all of the advancements of medicine and various surgeries, the average age for men is about seventy-five and for women about eighty. That's it. We are not going to live for two hundred years.

America plays down death except for sensationalism purposes. However, it is a good thing to explore death in one's mind because it is going to happen. Anyone over the age of thirty-five should slowly start making plans-certainly mentally- for the inevitable.

Dying is an incredible thing in another way: It truly makes us all equal. You could be a billionaire or not have a thing. Both are going in the same direction. It does not discriminate in terms of race or gender; it comes the way of all.

There is nothing funnier (in a cynical way)than seeing old people filled with ego and pride. One would figure by that point common sense would kick in. Again, money is no shield in the way of foolishness. Billionaire Donald Trump is a perfect example of this. He recently ripped Martha Stewart to pieces in a letter sent to the press for her performance in "The Apprentice." It was one of those "I-am-great-and-you-suck" type of letters. Basically, his version of the show does well and hers, well, tanked. So, in response to a minor comment by Stewart, Trump went nuts and ripped her from A to Z. Give it a break Donald! You are going to be sixty years old in a couple of months. Ripping on the senior citizen Stewart was pretty cruel. Perhaps going nuts gives him vitality in his mind and takes focus off of his death.

The thought of death is certainly a scary thing. But it is very common, almost too common. We are meant to die. Coming to terms with that fact makes for a more sane life instead of denial and game playing. The end will come for every living thing and for this writer, dealing with it and asking God for strength are the only ways to look at it.

Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York