The recent death of my friend made me think of my own mortality. I have his death and I have 3 other people in my life that are nearing the end of their life.

One is my aunt. She is now living in a nursing home and will most likely die soon. But for the past 10 years or more, she has been pretty much confined to her home. Her mind is not very sharp but then it has never been, She has pretty much spending the last part of her life doing nothing but watch television.

Then my parents. They have slowed down a lot but otherwise are in really good shape. Both of their minds stay sharp. Up until the past 5 years or so they kept busy being active in the community, volunteering etc. My mom reads a lot and my dad stay busy with his interest in history.

My friend was fairly young when he died. Overweight but otherwise healthy. His mind was extremely sharp. He was active in sailing in the summer, rode his bike once in a while etc. One day he just died.

Out if the three sets of people I would have to say I might want to go as my parents should (hopefully if they keep their health). But I think I might want to go just a bit younger. I don't want to be dependent on anyone. Especially since I have no wife or kids that might be able to help me.

I certainly don't want to go out like my aunt will. I'd much rather drop over dead suddenly at a younger age.

I love to ride bicycles and sail. I guess if I had to go I would prefer it happen while doing one of those. I have heard, some old sailors will load up their boat with booze, get drunk and go find a big storm. I am not sure if it is in me to do something like that.

 

..sorry, bad joke.

And, sorry for your recent loss. I too have a close friend fighting cancer and we are looking mortality in the face.

Myself, I'd be satisfied to go quickly, not be a hardship on my family and go out with a bang. I am planning the same.

Again, sorry for your loss.

EDIT: For any reading, if cancer is in the mix, get your own selves to MD Anderson in Houston, TX or a comparable facility (there are only a couple in the entire US). My buddy got hacked and irradiated on for 18mos. at a (facility which will go unnamed). Finally got him to go to MDA. They looked at his previous treatment and it was WTF? Hopefully, we caught it in time.

 

My univ professor and supervisor who taught me computer electronics and mentored me all through my early career in electronics died last week. He was a champion and visionary in his own ways. I am putting together a website dedicated to him.

 

My univ professor and supervisor who taught me computer electronics and mentored me all through my early career in electronics died last week. He was a champion and visionary in his own ways. I am putting together a website dedicated to him.

Sorry to hear that. Best to you and post a link to the site when its up.

 

I want to die suddenly, and only once. Don't revive me. While I'm still healthy. I also don't want to be dependent on anyone. My grandma died several years ago from a stroke, and they revived her. She wasn't the same after. It was like the spark of life left her. She has more strokes every year and gets more and more dull and cranky. She lives in a nursing home, one of the most depressing places on earth I'm convinced. Every time I talk to her, another one or two of her friends has passed. She makes new friends and they die. It's like a house of death. Literally, it's where people go to die. Their usefulness has dried up and nobody wants to deal with them, so they get sent there to wither away and die alone (or, with other people who are on their way out). I'm not sending my parents there, and I'll do myself in before I go there. NEVER EVER going there. If I knew how to sail I think I'd like to go out in a storm like that.

On a related note, I was having problems with a machine last week and needed some inside advice. The Austrian company that made it (BEMA) is out of business; it was gobbled up some years ago by a larger company (DUNST). I found out the name of the engineer who designed it (Josef Bein), and after some heavy internet footwork I was able to get a contact email for him. I sent him an email requesting assistance, and while waiting for a reply, I checked out the website associated with his email domain. Not only was he the engineer who designed the machine, he was the owner and founder of the company in 1946! I don't know how old he is, but making some assumptions (that he probably didn't start an engineering firm before the age of 30) and doing some math (2013 - 1946 + 30) he is probably at least 97 years old. I was thinking "I'll never get a reply back from this guy, he's probably dead." Well, 2 days later, I got a reply signed from Bein himself, giving me very detailed information seemingly from the top of his head. Turns out, he's still in business, selling spare parts for all those machines he designed and built over the years (and he did design each and every one of them). His website is still up, and deceivingly appears as if BEMA is still in business selling machines.

I hope I can be that awesome when I'm 97, but if I start losing my spark at 67, I hope I die somewhere around then and not live another 30 years in some depressing half-life.

 

I would like to go like my very good freind, at age 76 got up to turn of his tv one night & droped dead in the middle of his lounge room. His last few years were a little frustrating for him after a stroke. But he was at least still living in his own house.

 

Remember my story on a doctors wish and goal of a 100 years old, now Strantor is

communicating with such a person. @ Strantor ,I am glad you took the time to

explore and find your guy. It makes my story of people having a goal to live to

a 100 possible,in your case still active.