Told His Stories In Passing

(It’s the first day of class and the teacher, an old man, is telling us about himself. He has a jovial, carefree attitude.)

Teacher: “Yeah, I was in the war and I watched my buddies die, and I got shot multiple times myself, but I survived somehow. Made me realize how fleeting life is, you know? Anyway, since then, I’ve been skydiving and once my parachute didn’t open and I slammed into the ground. Broke nearly every bone in my body but survived. I guess I’m just one of those people that cheats death!”

(The students are listening with fascination, and the teacher goes on with the lesson. I don’t think anything of it, until the next day…)

Student: “Where’s the teacher? He’s late and we can’t get into the classroom.”

Me: *jokingly* “Maybe he finally kicked the bucket, haha.”

Student: “Yeah, right! If he can survive two wars and skydiving into the ground, he’ll live forever!”

(Sadly, another teacher came soon after and informed us that the old teacher had indeed suddenly passed away, at 89. I guess no one is immune after all!)