My mom called me yesterday ...

... with some sad news that a former classmate of mine had a heart attack and passed away.

Jeff Mascerelli was the son of 'Red' Mascerelli -- former Cleveland Brown football player -- and a football 'stud' in his own right. In junior high school we played football together. I was a little guy. Jeff was one of the bigger fellows who played linebacker; a chip off of the old block so to speak. Jeff went on to play in high school and later as NCAA Division I-level ball player and University of West Virginia Mountaineer. He had a wife and several children. Given that our family moved to California and his family stayed in Pennsylvania, my memories of him are a little vague and distant. But I do recall that he could block and tackle with the best of 'em.

When a former team/classmate dies and he's the same age as you, this will get your attention. (Particularly in a year when my younger brother suffered a stroke and has fought his way back to being 95+% recovered -and- when in the past year another friend, Julie Whitt, became an official angel.)

This I know is the circle of life and such deaths are normal. But they're an eye-opener too!

Tonight I'm looking forward to another solid workout. I'm building my body-for-life so that with a little luck and the grace of God I'll be around a little longer to serve my family and play football with my grandchildren.