Thanks for the big reminder, guys

There’s smoke in the air.

Too many Washington license plates.

Too damn hot.

Little stuff.

Cancer kills Doug Magnuson, age 60.

Cancer kills Todd Hudson, age 53.

Big stuff.

We’ve got too little money. We have too much fat. We work too hard. We’re not respected enough.

Little. Little. Little. And more little.

But as Doug and Todd reminded us so poignantly and painfully late last week, the big things in life can be deceptive. The danger is that we might not see the long, long shadows those big things cast until we look up at them for the very last time.

A round of golf with friends. A beverage and belly laughs afterward.

An afternoon with children on the lake. Soft words and aloe after.

Christmas morning with fresh snow. Family ice cream on the Fourth. A sore throat well-earned at a Pac-12 football game.

Making new friends. Making amends. Making love.

Seeking solutions. Serving others. Rolling over and pulling the blankets up for an extra half hour of sleep after an especially challenging week of work, and realizing your baby girl is right there curled up with you.

Employees of The Press extend their heartfelt condolences to the Hudson and Magnuson families, but along with that we extend our gratitude.

Both of these men lived big lives that they shared freely with so many.

More than most, they didn’t sweat the little stuff.

And that’s the biggest thing of all.