NB: I wrote this in February, just prior to some heart surgery, which I didn't know I was about to have at the time of writing... blew a lot of plans out of the water, but has not changed my thinking on this... Now with the example of Elisabeth Fritzl, I am even more convinced that this is true... Read on to see what I mean, and let me know if I am right... PS: my sister in law, gentle lady that she is, told me tonight that I was looking pale, like I had Prison Pallor... spending too much time behind my computer, in my room in the basement (9 1/2 x 12 x 6 1/2 ft); perhaps I have been doing too much reading on the net... today is the first day of summer, perhaps I should get out and get some sun, before winter returns ;0 being single has it's advantages, when there is no one around to tell you the truth ;) TTFN
This is a controversial subject when taken to it's extreme, as in comas and euthanasia... but I am not going there... so don't worry... no, what I am talking about is those who are still cognizant of their surroundings and able to get about, even moderately, with assistance... people like Doug, and the lady across the street from us, Lucy, of no last name and no history aside from knowing her since we moved here, 20 years ago... it is her that I want to talk about most, as she is an example of someone, who I believe, will not willingly go to that rest we all are headed for... when we came here she was in her 60's and married... 
had lived in the same house for several decades... her neighbour Doug, we believed he too, was not one to willingly go... Doug was a widower for at least 10 years before we met him... his wife having died from Cancer, and he never remarried... he worked up until a few years after we came... bought a car on his severance and then retired... he would do his yard, cut the grass and kept busy... saw his kids occasionally... went to the local coffee shop, like clock work... but in the end, when his health began to fail, I believe he got tired of living... and at some point, he died inside... he was always a joy to talk to... active mind and loved ideas, but life after retirement was the pits... he couldn't motivate himself after awhile... mean while, Lucy, for whom life had always been a struggle, continued on... they were about the same age... and went into hospital about the same time... she came out fighting, and he came out ready to go home to be with his wife... I should mention that Lucy was a widow, her husband died about 3 years after we moved in... and she has no family that we know of... she for all intents and purposes, is alone in the world... if asked about her past, or where she comes from, she waves her hand and says something like, 'oh it was a long time ago, and it doesn't matter now', yet she is one of the sweetest old ladies going... she does not take help without giving back... 
she likes to be independent... can remember my brother's wife cutting her lawn and getting 10 dollars with some flowers... little things... This week, we had a major snow storm... and Cathy, with her snow blower went out and after doing her driveway, went and did some of the neighbours... perhaps I should mention, there was between 17 and 22cm of snow fall... and at this time there is 6 inches on the lawn, with big 3-4ft snow banks along the roads and driveways... have some pictures which I will be posting... don't have the connector to download to this computer... but, to continue, Cathy did a path to Lucy's door (she doesn't have a car) and her side walk (here it is mandatory to clear your sidewalk within 24 hours of a storm, or get fined and the council will clear it for you)... well, today, typical of Lucy, she is out there puttering around shoveling snow... this is not light fluffy stuff... why, because she says if she doesn't keep moving, she will seize up... she is now at least in her early 80's with no sign of stopping... I was watching her today, doing her thing as she always does... whether it be the snow, the weeds in her lawn, even cutting the lawn, and raking leaves... she will do a bit and rest and do a bit more, but she will most often than not, turn down any help if asked...today as I was watching her shoveling the snow, little bits that really didn't need to be touched... and seriously so, because in a day or two we will be having temps of +6 and rain... and a lot of this snow will melt... at first I couldn't understand why she would be out there... 
previously, just before she came to shovel, I had seen her coming from up town, a walk of about 1 mile, pushing her wheel chair... not in it... pushing it... remember seeing her last spring, up at the plaza, and had asked her if she needed help... No, don't need help... if I need to stop, I have my chair with me... she later brought over some flowers she had picked on the way home, weeds we would call them, as a thank you for the offer of help... this is Lucy... but today, after a little bout with chest pain the past 2 weeks, now have orders to book a stress test, and also, with my own hopes... am looking at Lucy in a new light... where do I want to be in 20 years... do I want to be sitting in the Wheel Chair with a 20 something nurse pushing me, and feeding me... or do I want to be independent and living on my own, cutting my own fire wood, cooking my own meals... there is a lesson in these two peoples lives... does one give up and go, or does one do the necessary to keep going... when does one die... I believe, now, that it is when one gives up... that is when they die... not at the point the body stops functioning... but when the spirit inside says, 'NO MORE, STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF!!' I hope that I am like Lucy and will be here in 30- 40 years, pottering around, doing my own thing... but to do that I know I need to change my life, and SOON!!
had lived in the same house for several decades... her neighbour Doug, we believed he too, was not one to willingly go... Doug was a widower for at least 10 years before we met him... his wife having died from Cancer, and he never remarried... he worked up until a few years after we came... bought a car on his severance and then retired... he would do his yard, cut the grass and kept busy... saw his kids occasionally... went to the local coffee shop, like clock work... but in the end, when his health began to fail, I believe he got tired of living... and at some point, he died inside... he was always a joy to talk to... active mind and loved ideas, but life after retirement was the pits... he couldn't motivate himself after awhile... mean while, Lucy, for whom life had always been a struggle, continued on... they were about the same age... and went into hospital about the same time... she came out fighting, and he came out ready to go home to be with his wife... I should mention that Lucy was a widow, her husband died about 3 years after we moved in... and she has no family that we know of... she for all intents and purposes, is alone in the world... if asked about her past, or where she comes from, she waves her hand and says something like, 'oh it was a long time ago, and it doesn't matter now', yet she is one of the sweetest old ladies going... she does not take help without giving back... 
she likes to be independent... can remember my brother's wife cutting her lawn and getting 10 dollars with some flowers... little things... This week, we had a major snow storm... and Cathy, with her snow blower went out and after doing her driveway, went and did some of the neighbours... perhaps I should mention, there was between 17 and 22cm of snow fall... and at this time there is 6 inches on the lawn, with big 3-4ft snow banks along the roads and driveways... have some pictures which I will be posting... don't have the connector to download to this computer... but, to continue, Cathy did a path to Lucy's door (she doesn't have a car) and her side walk (here it is mandatory to clear your sidewalk within 24 hours of a storm, or get fined and the council will clear it for you)... well, today, typical of Lucy, she is out there puttering around shoveling snow... this is not light fluffy stuff... why, because she says if she doesn't keep moving, she will seize up... she is now at least in her early 80's with no sign of stopping... I was watching her today, doing her thing as she always does... whether it be the snow, the weeds in her lawn, even cutting the lawn, and raking leaves... she will do a bit and rest and do a bit more, but she will most often than not, turn down any help if asked...today as I was watching her shoveling the snow, little bits that really didn't need to be touched... and seriously so, because in a day or two we will be having temps of +6 and rain... and a lot of this snow will melt... at first I couldn't understand why she would be out there... 
previously, just before she came to shovel, I had seen her coming from up town, a walk of about 1 mile, pushing her wheel chair... not in it... pushing it... remember seeing her last spring, up at the plaza, and had asked her if she needed help... No, don't need help... if I need to stop, I have my chair with me... she later brought over some flowers she had picked on the way home, weeds we would call them, as a thank you for the offer of help... this is Lucy... but today, after a little bout with chest pain the past 2 weeks, now have orders to book a stress test, and also, with my own hopes... am looking at Lucy in a new light... where do I want to be in 20 years... do I want to be sitting in the Wheel Chair with a 20 something nurse pushing me, and feeding me... or do I want to be independent and living on my own, cutting my own fire wood, cooking my own meals... there is a lesson in these two peoples lives... does one give up and go, or does one do the necessary to keep going... when does one die... I believe, now, that it is when one gives up... that is when they die... not at the point the body stops functioning... but when the spirit inside says, 'NO MORE, STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF!!' I hope that I am like Lucy and will be here in 30- 40 years, pottering around, doing my own thing... but to do that I know I need to change my life, and SOON!! 
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