Timor Mortis Conturbat Me

[poliphilo]

I spent longer than was healthy on Deathclock yesterday. I return with a message for you all- we're doomed, I tell you, doomed.

William Holden slipped on his bedside rug, hit his head on the bedside table, tried to phone for help then passed out. Because of his reclusive habits he wasn't found until four days later, by which time he was maggoty.

Chris Farley, that funny fat man, spent his last hours in the company of a hooker taking lots and lots of drugs. When he collapsed on the floor she thought, "about time too", took some pictures to show her grandchildren and left. Trouble is, he never got up again.

Benny Hill, that other funny fat man, fell asleep in his chair in front of the TV. Like Holden he was a recluse.....

But after a while these stories lose their impact. Yes, he died and the worms ate him- tell me something I don't know.

I think about death quite a lot these days- I guess I always did- but then it was all gothicky shrouds and scythes and happening to somebody else; now it's personal.

I'm not afraid. Not really. A little nervous perhaps, like in the dentist's waiting-room. Pass me that magazine...

Because I'm really, really curious about what happens next...

So life is short and death undignified but the question you have to ask yourself is, "have I found this excursion to the earth plane interesting?" Because if you can answer "yes" to that- as Holden, Farley and Hill all could- then I reckon you've cracked it.

Comments

[bodhibird.livejournal.com]

Stephen King's Pet Sematary is depressing enough to make you shoot yourself, but it's a great book about the denial of death in our culture. There's a scene where the protagonist, a doctor, is arguing with his wife about the safety of their cat--they live next to a highway with heavy traffic--and he points out that whether or not the cat ever gets hit by a truck, he will eventually die, and they'll have to explain mortality to their little girl, to whom the cat belongs. His wife promptly freaks out in such a way that you understand she can't face the fact that the cat--and she herself, her husband, even their kids eventually--will die. No matter what.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of the story about the clergyman who was asked, "Well, father, what do you think happens after death?"

And he replied, "I suppose we shall inherit eternal life- but lets not talk about about such unpleasant things.