Our Friend Frances Kaplan: RIP

I heard Mom's phone ring at a bit after 7:00 this morning. I knew that, at that hour, it had to be either bad news or a wrong number. When I came upstairs around 10:00, Mom told me that she had gotten some terrible news, but it wasn't about anyone in the family. Frances Kaplan, Mom's friend since the first grade, passed away suddenly last night. Her landlord found her sitting outside, not moving. I told Mom that that was a beautiful way to go, sitting outside and maybe looking at the stars, and also that her family and friends were spared seeing her suffer. Rest in peace, Frances.