My therapist from rehab encouraged me to maintain a journal of my recovery in early sobriety, primarily as a source of personal therapy. I've always enjoyed writing, and often wonder what might've been had I used my GI Bill accordingly after leaving active duty many moons earlier. Perhaps I simply would've been a boring columnist for a struggling news paper rather than an award-winning sports writer for Sports Illustrated... but I digress.

Anyway, I just published my latest journal entry to my private blog. Not all of my writing centers solely around daily recovery and sobriety, although most of it does. Today's post was courtesy of an obituary I came across just yesterday. Perhaps it's worth reading, maybe not. I thought I'd post it here anyway.

All That's Left ~ Scott F.

I just read in the news that Larry Tesler recently passed away. If you’re not familiar with who he was, join the crowd. But the odds are overwhelmingly likely that his contributions to society were of a certain benefit to all of us in the computer age. As things would turn out, Larry became a computer scientist. But not just any computer scientist. He was the pioneer/inventor/developer of the “copy, cut, and paste” function still used by nearly all computer users today. Of course, he had other achievements in computer technology, but none of them more popular than that simple tool that has become as standard in the computer world as windshield wipers have in the auto industry.

I try to not get the cart ahead of the horse with morbid projections, but I’ve often pondered how my own life might be remembered by others once I’m no longer around. I’m certainly not famous, nor am I wealthy. I’ve never been a titan of industry or business, I’ve never authored published works or written magazine articles that have been read by hundreds, let alone tens of thousands. I’ve never been asked to be a commencement speaker at a university’s graduation ceremony. I have, on two occasions, given speeches at weddings because two dear friends found me worthy of being their “Best Man.” Even then, perhaps it's worth considering that possibly I became a last-resort fill-in? Who knows! Beyond that, beyond the reach of my neighborhood, my church, and my local community in general, few would even recognize who I am.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. I’ve often said that I’d rather take my chances being boringly anonymous than run the risks of being infamously notorious, especially in today’s courts of public opinion.

It’s probably safe to assume that Larry Tesler enjoyed an impressive career in the technology sector for many, many years. I’m also probably not going too far out on a limb in assuming that he enjoyed a fair degree of recognition in Silicon Valley, and probably mingled with some very influential people in the world throughout his later life, people like Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs. But outside of that, little else is known about Larry Tesler to the everyday joe outside of his sphere of influence; who he was when he was home around his family, how he treated his friends and neighbors, or who else he might’ve touched in his everyday life outside of the ever-evolving technology era.

And that’s perfectly okay. I didn’t need to know him personally or professionally to appreciate his computer-savvy contribution. It has saved millions of computer users like myself many precious hours over the years by not having to retype and reenter data, be it in the form of emails, spreadsheets, expense reports, essays, newsletters, or hundreds of boring blog posts just like this one. (Thank you, Larry. I’ve used your copy-cut-paste function on at least three occasions today alone.)

But it still begs the question: how will I be remembered by those who truly knew me? What will be my lasting contributions beyond the grave that they remember me by as they continue moving forward in their own lives without me? Will they be worth celebrating? Might they be inspiring? Or will they be filled with regret and a sense of what might’ve been, if only?

Every day that I’m alive, I’m given an opportunity to change the narrative of my life’s story. Those opportunities decrease in number every day, and have been since the day I was born into this world over 50 years ago. There will soon come a day when my story ends, and hopefully I’ve figured out the plot long before then. Hopefully when that point comes, I’ve finished with the editing and in the process of putting the finishing touches on what will hopefully be a happy ending. But even then, only a relative few will truly know my life’s story.

But it will be my story, not someone else’s. What I leave behind will be all that’s left.

If nothing else, hopefully it will make for enjoyable reading.