Even with a daily listing to remind us that our lives are not without limit, it is when the hand of death comes so close to us that we are shaken awake and reminded that we have only a few real opportunities to do the thing we are certain God has created us to do. He calls. He equips. We do. That's what Anthony Burger did to the very, very last moment. He did the thing that God had called him, and most certainly equipped him to do. And he did it till the end of his life.
We wanted him to do it a lot longer. We expected the energetic entertainment, the masterful music, and the special spirit that Anthony shared from the stage so many days and nights of his life to last many more years. Many of us depended on his friendship, his counsel and his wit to lighten our personal loads. His family needs his guidance, his support and his love because that's what family members do for each other. Now all of us are devastated by the abrupt ending, and broken by the terrible loss.
I just took a look at my local newspaper. I scanned the obituary page to see if there was anyone listed there that I knew. There were probably thirty or so names mentioned with just enough information to make me ask myself if that was the so-and-so I knew as a kid. Friends of mine who work at the newspaper tell me it is consistently the most turned to and read page issue after issue.
I was relieved to find a page full of strangers today. But, no doubt, someone opened the page and gasped at the news as they learned for the first time of a fallen friend, neighbor or relative. Depending on the closeness they knew, they may have been able to move on and live the rest of their day with a sense of normalcy. Those of us who knew Anthony well won't enjoy that feeling for some time to come.
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