LACEY FELT HAPPY. She hummed along with the music on the radio as she made coffee and breakfast. She opened the new escanner Christopher had sent her. Once more she marveled at this wonder of technology - a nine by twelve e-book that opened in two and sat on the kitchen table, making its total size two feet wide. On it, without any wires, she could download newspapers, books and information. She mused about the world she was going to miss as she thought about the technologies that had been invented in the sixty years of her life, and how they snowballed and increased ever faster with each passing year.

She opened the Star.com and read the news items of the day.

She clicked on the obituaries to see who had died and if there were many that were younger than she. Today, hundreds of thousands of people will die. Many will be younger than I am. I am not going to die today. She took her time doing the crossword and studying the bridge column. Then she showered and dressed. It was cold for late November but she decided to go for a walk first, before she started her Christmas list. My last one? Walking along the road, she mentally checked her condition.

I feel not too badly. Legs okay. Breathing good. Nothing hurts. But I am fuzzy-headed today. I hope that stops before Tuesday's bridge. Poor Danny. She turned off the road into the woods. The trees were bare and the sky was gray. Suddenly the path in front of her appeared to rise up on one side. She lurched sideways and grabbed a tree for support. Nausea welled in her throat and her heart hammered.