Last week some of my former co-workers gave me a heads up that one of my former employees died of a heart attack. After I left the big corporate behemoth late last year, he departed for another contract. Even though he was shifted to my department and only worked for me for a few months, I still considered him ‘one of my own’. What can I say? It is the Mother Hen in me.

He left behind a wife and I believe two young children. Many of us are speculating that it was stress related; we’ll probably never know. I think he was in his 40’s.

Last year my friend Paul passed away. He was 35. He was in tip-top shape and he just dropped dead of a heart attack at his desk. No wife, no kids. But he had everything else in the world and was pretty much like me. Well, except that he was single, good looking, wealthy, etc. Ok. We had similar jobs.

Things like this worry me. I left the big, corporate behemoth because I believed that it was slowly killing me. It had already left a huge, empty hole in me when I decided that it wasn’t challenging or fulfilling anymore. The stress and anger and hatred that I harbored just wasn’t worth it to me.

I finally got the results of my blood tests, too. Evidently I have Silly Putty running through my veins. Poor cholesterol, high blood pressure.

I don’t want to die like that.