By Lou Giampetroni

Now is the time for all good men and women to think about the really important things in life.

Let me present some comments by the late Rev. Walter L. Taylor, of Flint, Mich. -- a paddleballer until the very end.

He had inoperable lung cancer and died on October 22, 1977, at the age of 71.

Known for his reworking and decorating of paddles, some of which are still around, he continued to play PB in the courts of the Flint YMCA until just weeks before his death.

He was the first recipient of the Earl Riskey Memorial Trophy, in 1977, for his contributions to the sport of paddleball.

He typed a few pages as the end neared. These are some of his comments:

"It puts you on a toboggan going down a slide into a certain crash."

"It casts you out of an airplane with a defective parachute that will not open."

"It immerses you in quicksand with no one to help."

"It is listening to the Christmas carols and reveling in the beauty of the season and wondering, 'Will this Christmas be my last?'"

"It is to be flooded with cards, flowers, gifts and good wishes."

"It is to have groups of friends and churches to pray for your recovery."

"It is to study the life beyond life with a new and fresh concern."