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"I wish I knew where I was going to die - 'cos I wouldn't go there!" runs the old joke. And that's about as funny as this post will get, as I want to ask you a serious question. First though, let me try and pave the way. When I was a great deal younger than I am today, I'd sometimes imagine my deathbed scene, which usually took place in the bedroom of one particular house - not the one in which I live today, but the previous one. I'm not sure why, but that's the way it would go.
Okay, so here it is. Have any of you ever thought forward to your final moments, and imagined where it might happen and what it will be like? Would your 'ideal' (not the right word, but you know what I mean) scenario be going peacefully in your sleep, or being surrounded by those dear to you as you slipped quietly away, knowing they loved you and that you'd made an immense and appreciated difference to their lives?
I suppose I'll be alone when I croak, just as I've always been. Never really fitted in anywhere, even as a child. I'll just slowly breathe my last one day and the world will go on as it's always done, and no one will miss me or shed a tear. In my 'future projections', there was never anyone around my bedside in my final moments, and there's no reason to think the actual event will be any different to my imagining of it. (Unless it's a team of doctors and nurses perhaps.)
I take a small measure of consolation from the fact that my name will yet be seen in old comics and appear in new reprints, but it's poor compensation for not being around in person to see and appreciate it. So, if it's not too upsetting to consider, have you ever thought about your passing and how it might play out 'on the day'? Or would you prefer not to think about such dark matters? Either way, leave a comment, even if it's just to try and lighten the mood around here.
("For feck's sake, Kid, that's some heavy sh*t!")
Yeah. I think about my own death quite a lot these days. Usually I'm obsessing over the fear that when the day comes I'll be conscious of having wasted much of my life.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I don't worry much about being alone or uncounted. I've been blessed with a great wife and three wonderful children...so most of my anxiety has to do with not leaving them as much (either materially or in terms of a "legacy" as I think they deserve.)
Good and thoughtful answer, J. I'm sure you've done your wife and children proud through life, and if you've brought your kids up to be decent, considerate people, then that's the best legacy you can leave them.
ReplyDeleteAt 61 !ve started to think of the time that I,ll shed this mortal shell.
ReplyDeleteMy situation is similar to Justin,s,a wife and two children,but when I take that last breath
I,d prefer to be alone.Perhaps its because inside I've always felt alone.My head full of fantasies
my childhood toys and comics. I can't explain a feeling I get sometimes that death is not the end.
I like to imagine another existence were you can go to experience all the happy times of your life
again.For me it would be the endless summertime of my childhood.So if I ever see you there Kid
you can show me that tree that was really Fireball XL5.
I think that, regardless of however many people are around us when we go, S, we're alone anyway. Such is the nature of death; it can only be experienced on an individual level. Your hoped-for scenario sounds great - I dearly hope it's so. And when I show you that tree, you can be Matthew Mattic and I'll be Steve Zodiac.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too bothered where,and I don't want to know when I shake of this mortal coil,but I often worry about the impact that my life has been on others.
ReplyDeleteThe reverberations of my actions that will echo long after I have left.
Will they be viewed as positive or negative,or even worse indifferent....
Fortunately,I have produced or rather been instrumental in producing,two remarkable and wonderful human beings who will go on,I hope to perpetuate the values that I have always held dear in this life,and that is,consideration and kindness in all things and to all people.
At the end of the day,I believe that is all that really matters anyway.
I have imagined it.
ReplyDeleteMy imagination is pretty good.
It scared the s*** out of me!
It's good to know your kids will perpetuate your values, Moony. That means if you go before me, I can always ask Scott to run me up the road with my bird seed. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters. (Hee hee.) As the bird lady sang in Mary Poppins - "Feed the birds - £4.99 a bag." (That's inflation for you.)
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Surely the normal reaction of any sane and rational person, Baab. At least if you're ever constipated, you know what to think about to get things moving again, eh?
At 65 here and don't really dwell on that too much. Have a nice wife, daughter and perfect grandchild, worked in libraries a long long time so made the world better a tad, I would say. And if not, well we are all "dust in the wind" as they say. I grew up in a good era with great comics so that is one thing and you, yes, you, Mr Funny Talking Scot Guy, were part of that.
ReplyDeleteHi LG, yeah, we had some great comics back in the day, didn't we? I suppose if I had a wife and kids, I'd be too busy to think about that 'final bedtime' (as Lewis Carroll called it), but I've not got a family like you and Moony to distract me from the fact that I'm getting closer to the end of the journey. (And we don't even get a cup of tea and a biscuit when we get there.)
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ReplyDeleteI suppose most people think of things like this at some points in their lives Kid . Personally my only hope (as it can only ever be a “hope” ) is that I go in my sleep at an old age and don’t have to linger and waste away due to illness, and that I am mobile and independent in my latter years (I would hate to go into an old folks home or worse a hospital in my final days). I’m not too worried about actually drawing my last breath (as such) I would imagine its natural like going to sleep and who knows there may be something after death ( I hope so) - if not I hope when my mind frantically runs through all the things that happened to me in an effort to find a solution to helping me cope with “snuffing it” that it dwells for a while on the great times I had with my mum, dad, brother, family and friends and maybe even remembers when I bought my first issue of Wham so I can relish that moment again – that would be cool and maybe that nano section lasts a lifetime in your mind.
However I plan to have a long and fun old age and retirement with Linda (my partner) and we I am looking in the next few years, to downsize everything from my house to my comic / music collections in order to free up space and time to enjoy and experience more things. We’re nowhere near “done” yet Kid, maybe the best is yet to come you never know what another day will bring.
Very true, PM, you never know what another day may bring, but I can't shake the impression that all my best days are far behind me. Of course, if I were to win the Lottery, I'm sure I'd suddenly have a lot more options. Yeah, to remember buying Wham! for the first time - to the extent that it seems you're re-experiencing it - that would be cool. Having said that, however, there's a lot more comics that I'd also like to 're-live' in that way. Must remember to buy a Lottery ticket on Wednesday - you never know, eh?
ReplyDeleteI want to go in my own home, surrounded by my pets. There will be nothing for the kids to worry about, we have taken care of everything already!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hope I go in my own bed as well, JP. Pain-free, after a great day, looking forward to tomorrow.
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