About your comments

To those of you who have left comments, thank you very much. I have been touched by nearly all of them.
Of course, as with all things online these days, there have been some that have been less than kind. Some have criticized me for my posts that have been mean spirited. The criticism has been right, but at this late stage of my life, what good does it do? I know I have many flaws and I know what they are. I admit that there have been many times that I've lashed out unfairly at others when I've felt that life has been unfair to me, especially at those times that I have been mocked and rejected for having a bad leg. But yes, I know that two wrongs can never make a right, but the proportion of the over seven hundred posts I've made to this blog have not been done in malice toward others.

Me, some time in 1959.

We are now in a time when the commission of a few bad acts is reason enough to destroy or ignore one hundred good ones. In many cases, the bad acts are bad enough that this is just. In other cases, the punishment is greater than the crime.
I have not done great things with my life. I have not cured a disease, I have not brought great joy or insight to others. 
I have hurt the feelings of people who didn't deserve to be hurt. The guilt I have for those acts burns today as it did not long after I committed them.
Instances of me hurting others are not the rule, however. I have also been a good and encouraging friend and I was supportive of my parents in their last years. I have tried to be a good citizen (an underrated goal these days, I think), doing as little as I can to damage the environment or disturb others with noise. I've tried to vote responsibly, for the candidates I think will do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. I've done volunteer work and donated to charitable organizations. 
As far as I know, I have not done anything that has severely and permanently diminished the lives of others. 
Overall, I think that even people who have seen me at my worst will remember me as a nice guy. In any case, the death I face will be punishment enough for my wrongs.
My psyche is delicate these days. Even though the negative comments I've gotten are from people I don't know and therefore I shouldn't give them any weight, the words hurt. Some, it seems, like to kick people when they're down.
Please do not feel slighted if I don't respond to your comment, no matter how positive and thoughtful it is. It just means that I didn't read it. This is a time for me to withdraw and seek the solace of good friends, family, and happy distractions, when I can find them. If you call my avoidance of reading your comment an act of cowardice, that's fine. You're probably right.