After You Die Say Hello/Goodbye

Apparently there are now apps that allow you to release a message to your survivors after you die!  Is this something Facebook offers?  I heard that you can say farewell, but perhaps you can say whatever you want.?

Staring Death in the Face

Last night my 70 year old mother-in-law died.  Or so I thought.  My wife was in the kitchen talking with her mother.  Suddenly my wife started screaming my name.  I mean screaming like I've never heard before.  I was in the middle of changing our about to be 2 year old son's poopy diaper.  I ran into the kitchen before finishing the job.  There was my mother-in-law, slumped over at the kitchen table, ashen and not breathing.  I called 911 and was put on hold for what seemed like an hour when in fact it was probably mere seconds.  Help came on the line and told me an ambulance was on the way.  The woman on the line was so calm.  And I was not.  Time was of the essence and the ambulance was nowhere to be heard.  I was told to administer CPR, something I had never done.  I only knew about it from stories I've read.  The 911 woman talked me through it.  I worked at it furiously, talking to and listening to 911 while doing so.  My mother-in-law's eyes were open yet vacant and she sure looked dead.  Suddenly her chest and her belly started moving again and choking sounds came out of her mouth.  911 told me she was revived and to turn her on her side.  My wife held her mother in place while talking to her non-stop.  I ran outside and flagged down the firetruck and ambulance that I finally heard coming.  6 or 7 EMT's came into the kitchen and calmly got to work.  After about 5 minutes they took my mother-in-law to a nearby hospital.  My wife followed the ambulance with her father to the hospital.  I looked in the mirror and I was ashen, and shaking, and crying a bit.  Death can happen so suddenly.  Today my mother-in-law is alive and conscious and aware in the local ICU.

Cimmerian Death

Cimmerian!  What a great word.  Per dictionary.com Cimmerian is an adjective.  It means "very dark; gloomy; deep" and "Classical Mythology.  Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness."

Arthur Rimbaud in "A Season in Hell" wrote:  "I was ripe for death, and along a road full of dangers, weakness led me to the boundaries of the world and the Cimmerian land of darkness and whirlwinds."

Prisoner Burial Cemeteries

When many prisoners die in prison in America they are typically buried in state run cemeteries that are only for inmates who die in prison.  Apparently the cemeteries are stand alone and not on prison property, mostly.  The state (taxpayer) pays for the burials.  They are simple and average about $2,000 per burial including casket, grave, burial, funeral home, etc.  Usually living prisoners dig the graves and tend the grounds and mourn the deceased.  Often no family members attend or choose not to attend.  A warden or assistant warden typically attends each burial.  Memorialization is a simple cross or stone with the inmate #, date of death, and prisoner name.  There is no mention of what crime the inmate committed to land in jail.  If the crime was egregious enough only the inmate # will show on the memorial.

Did You Make Plans For Your Money When You Die?

We're all going to die.  No one's found a way around it, yet.  But what about your money, your finances? Your money will outlive you.  So it would be nice of you if you would help your survivors deal with this.  Per Kiplinger.com there are 3 reasons people have for not doing so:

Excuse #1:  You're not going to die.
Excuse #2:  You've been too busy.
Excuse #3:  You can't stand thinking about a future that doesn't include you.

Most people don't want to think about death. Most of us don't know when death will come knocking.   My father died suddenly and unexpectedly.  He never would talk about death.  Therefore, he did not believe in life insurance.  My poor mother.  His inaction while he was alive created an absolute nightmare and mess for his survivors, especially my mother.

So check out Kiplinger.com for estate-planning steps to "die the right way," including tips for planning your funeral party.

Think about writing your life story.  This will prove to be invaluable to all of your eventual survivors.  When you die a lot of family history can be lost forever unfortunately.  This will frustrate survivors.  And knowing that you wrote your story will be a big comfort to family after your death.

What about someone to manage your investments, if you have any?  I would not trust most stockbrokers and financial planners, even fee-for-service advisers,  with a 1000 foot pole.  I think they only enrich themselves, and that the returns they  trumpet are mediocre at best.  You can do better on your own, and save a lot in expenses by doing so.  It is really not that hard to do yourself.  But it takes time and energy.  But think about it.

Do you have a will?  What happens if you have young children and you die?  Do you have a trust(s)?  Will your estate avoid the tedium and public nature of probate?  Are your finances organized?  Where are all of your passwords and user names, for online accounts and otherwise?

  

Can Software-Based Humans Live Forever?

Recently I saw a show on public TV where 3 scientists stated that within the next 50 years humans will start routinely living for 150 years.  They did not address the quality of life that people will experience.  Will we be miserable from 100 to 150?  Will we be able to afford getting older?  And how will the children of aging parents hold up psychologically, financially, etc.?  Many doctors feel that we will be like cars now.  When we need new parts we'll go into the hospital repair shop, get fixed up and come out new and improved.  (No comments about the lack of quality and affordable auto repair shops.)  This is already happening to some mild extent now.  It's been estimated that there will be 8 million centenarians by 2050.  We're living longer and longer, for better or for worse.

Ray Kurzweil, the author of "The Singularity Is Near:  When Humans Transcend Biology," believes that we're close to unlocking the key to immortality.  Yes you heard right:  I M M O R T A L I T Y.  "Software-based humans"  will survive indefinitely on the web "projecting bodies whenever they need or want them, including virtual bodies in diverse realms of virtual reality."  Whoa!  I, or my children and their children, better start perfecting our interactive web games skills (World of Warcraft, etc.).

What we do now is bury or entomb or cremate bodies.  That's what humans have been doing for thousands of years.  So perhaps no more expensive grave plots for our grandchildren in the future.

Yikes It's the End of the World Jim (Again)!!

Apocalypse now!  Armageddon!!  It's the end of the world!!  Martians!  Run!!  Doomsday prophecies have repeatedly come and gone often since the Middle Ages in particular.  Earlier this year Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping (born July 19, 1921) predicted that on May 21, 2011 Jesus would return to Earth for the Rapture, followed by months of fire, brimstone and plagues on Earth with millions of people dying each day.  When that did not happen he then decided that the Universe would be destroyed by God on October 21,  2011.  On October 21 at about 9 AM I was watching one of the national morning TV programs and I was still alive.  An awful lot of people had the end of the world in the back of their minds. One of the TV host pundits pointed out that it was already October 22 in Australia.  The Universe had survived.  So with relief I got on with the rest of my day.  Camping had twice before predicted the end of the world in 1988 and 1994.  There will surely be more end of times predictions ahead.