There’s nothing in the world which teaches me to appreciate life quite the way death does.
When I was young, death seemed so far off for me that it didn’t seem real. Although I have a vivid memory of seeing the body of a man who had just been killed when I was about 10, that didn’t seem like something that could happen to me. It was only years later that I really found meaning in that.
I was one of the lucky ones who never had anybody in his life die other than the people we expect. My mother’s father died when I was about 5. I remember going to the funeral home and touching his cold body, but death didn’t seem surprising with an older person. All the other deaths I saw in the coming years were older people who were related to me. Not a one seemed surprising or “too soon.”
Some people experience a rough early introduction to death — especially those who unexpectedly lose a parent, a sibling or a close friend — but for me, death was almost an abstract concept.
Until the last few years. Death seems very real to me now.
Banning access to guns won’t prevent the evil in human hearts
Smart people and profit motive have made world a better place
Law profs: the Constitution means whatever we say it means
At times, we have to just wait for the day when we’ll see the fruit
If you grow accustomed to abuse, you eventually accept it as normal
Science or bias? What if there’s no proof that eating fat will kill you?
Shame and Fear still stand guard over my efforts to chase dreams
Public discourse is distorted by constant outrage over anecdotes
I’m disgusted to live in a world where Judge Judy makes millions