I wish to thank Mike Spinale of the Senior Activity Center for making my parents lives more meaningful.

My mother was an artist and entertainer. The patriarch of our family was a loving father who sustained us during our troubled times. His health declined. He had a pacemaker to keep his heart beating and chemotherapy to combat cancer. During his final weeks he was on oxygen for emphysema.

He struggled daily to stay alive. He wanted to see his great granddaughter, due in January. My son and his wife gave him an ultrasound picture of her. My father cherished the picture and expressed his gratitude. The next morning he was gone.

The "Ring of Life" predates the dinosaurs and it's the responsibility of each generation to ensure that it remains unbroken. It's the only means we have of assuring our immortality through the continuation of our genetic code.

Modern technology kept my father alive and provided the means for the two generations to meet. My father will share the memory of her with my mother. The great grandmother and her great granddaughter complete the Ring of Life.

The center provides a vital service for the seniors of our community.

Sheila L Richardson