CIRCLE OF LIFE

In a hospital in the Twin Cities are my two twin baby boy great-nephews, born on Tuesday—last name HEXUM. In a hospital on the other side of the state is my father, celebrating his 91st birthday having a colonoscopy to diagnose a GI bleed—last name HEXUM.

In a photograph on the mantle of a fireplace in Phoenix, Arizona, is the hand of my 32-year-old son being held by my then-90-year-old father, almost like they’re shaking on the deal: “When I’m gone, you help carry the legacy on.” Deal sealed. Circle of Life.