A woman in her early 20s returns to her apartment after work. It’s late, just before midnight. She brings along a bottle of wine to celebrate moving to a new place the next day. She finds her boyfriend dead in the bed. An autopsy reveals no signs of foul play — no drugs, no alcohol, no anything else.

A woman in her 50s is riding her bike and suddenly she passes out. She remains in a coma for a month. When she awakes she has absolutely no memory of what had happened.

An older woman plays tennis with her husband one day, and then a few days later he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. He dies within one month.

These three horrible events — all true — occurred this past spring to people who live within a few minutes walk of our summer cottage.

Tough stuff. Very tough stuff. What a slender thread we hold to life. To each other. The message?

Care — really care — every day about those around you. Who knows what tomorrow will bring or whether there will even be a tomorrow?

Treasure those moments that give meaning to life, no matter how small or how common. Share a cup of coffee with a spouse or friend. Talk about a new book or a new idea. Take a walk and really look at what you see and really listen to what you hear. Take a deep breath. Just because.

Forgive those who have hurt you. Experts say that carrying grudges is bad for the body and bad for the spirit.

Say “I’m sorry” to those you have hurt. Or say “I’m wrong” when those are the right words. Remember how Fonzie on Happy Days could never admit he was wrong? He’d say, “I’m wrrrrrrrrrrrrr” and never get out the rest of the word.

Turn off the television. So much of television these days is pure garbage or plain depressing. We haven’t watched television this summer and haven’t missed it at all, not once.

Go to the bucket list and start doing the things on the list. No excuses. Why wait?

Give. Give a hug even when not requested. Give to a cause that matters. Give wisdom when asked — even when not asked sometimes. Give a damn … but only about what really matters.

Try something new. It’s comforting, as the years pass, to do what we’ve always done and be with the people we’ve always been with. Comforting but stultifying. Call it hardening of the spiritual arteries. I’m taking my own advice on this tip by auditing a course on Japanese politics and society at Bowdoin this fall. The subject is outside my interest zone, but students say that the professor is fantastic. So, here goes.

Enough on the advice. I have to get outside and smell the cool Maine air. Before it’s too late.

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David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or ideas for future “Just a Little Old” columns at dtreadw575@aol.com.