Growing old

I've been rereading Tuesdays with Morrie. (which, if you haven't ever read, you should.) Its a great story told from the perspective of a student that is now long past school who reconnects with his professor to find out his professor is dying. The story is about how this student goes to see his professor every Tuesday and all the amazing things he learns from the teacher pre-death.

Actually when I typed that out it sounded quite depressing. And yes, its the kind of book you cry at and wonder if you'll ever be so wise...and its not really depressing so don't let that stop you from checking it out at your next library stop.

BUT...I got to the part of where Morrie attends the funeral of a friend. He says, "It was such a waste...all those nice things people said and Irv didn't get to hear any of it." So, Morrie decided to have a living funeral.

Would you ever want one of those?

Now, I have no idea when or how I will "go beyond the great divide..." and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that its suddenly in my sleep instead of a long terrible illness. But...at least if I knew I had an impending visit from the Grim ...I want to have my teeth in and my hair coifed. I'd like to put on my best duds and maybe some high heels? Can't hurt especially because you can get someone to wheel you around so your feet won't hurt. Gads...doesn't growing old sometimes just scare the pants off ya?

Ok...so back to living funerals.

Pro - You get to hear all those nice things people say about you.
Con - they are probably lying about some of it just so you feel good (but really - is that a bad thing?)

Pro - You get to throw one last party before kicking the bucket
Con - you're probably too tired to actually party.

Pro - You get to see all your friends that have been avoiding you because you are sick.
Con - Your friends HAVE to come see you...they can't exactly say they are busy when you invite them to a living funeral. So, while this is a con for them...its actually another Pro for you.

I think the pro's outweigh the cons. Yup. I'd have one. I think I'd want it near the ocean. I love the sound of water and being able to walk in the sand (or wheel through the sand) and see the seagulls and there are always children...and I think I'd want to arrive in style like on the back of an ATV or in a dunebuggy. Wouldn't that be fun? And we'd eat rice krispy treats which are good for old people because although they start out hard and crispy you can actually suck on them and eventually gum them if you don't have teeth. I'd have to have my other favorite treats like parmesan popcorn and brownies. NO VEGETABLES ALLOWED. Not for my last hurrah.

And like Gladys here...with her sense of humor and angel wings...


Come to think of it...why wait until I'm old and ready to "look toward the light?" We should have living funerals at age 40. They say thats when you head down the other side of the hill, right?