I missed my mother’s last breath by two minutes …while I was trying to make a software sale.

This was over 30 years ago. My mom was 69. Her body had been through a rough grind most of her life — rheumatic fever as a child, years of smoking, heart valve surgery in her 50s. By her late 60s, she was dealing with recurring pneumonia, weakening a little more each time. It wasn’t dramatic. It was slow. Manageable. Until it wasn’t.

She landed in the hospital again, this time in Panorama City. We’d all been through it before — she’d bounce back, right? That’s what I assumed, for my own rationalizations anyway.

That day, I was doing a demo of a software system we’d developed. A client had flown in from Illinois. This was a big deal, a major construction company reviewing our new software and a chance to build my company.

That’s when Carrie called, interrupting my demo.

“Gary, your mom’s not doing well. You should come now.”

I said I’d wrap up quickly and head out.

Thirty minutes passed. She called again, with........

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal