Saturday, July 31, 2021

What Comes at the End of a Life?

 

What Comes at the End of a Life?


Jack Thomas has been a journalist for the Boston Globe since 1958 and recently learned he has months to live due to a cancer diagnosis. So he wrote an article about what his impending death means.

As the saying goes, fate has dealt me one from the bottom of the deck, and I am now condemned to confront the question that has plagued me for years: How does a person spend what he knows are his final months of life?

Atop the list of things I’ll miss are the smiles and hugs every morning from my beautiful wife, Geraldine, the greatest blessing of my life. I hate the notion of an eternity without hearing laughter from my three children. And what about my 40 rose bushes? Who will nurture them? I cannot imagine an afterlife without the red of my America roses or the aroma of my yellow Julia Childs.

We told each of the three children individually. John Patrick put his face in his hands, racked with sobs. After hanging up the telephone, Jennifer doubled over and wept until her dog, Rosie, approached to lick away the tears but not the melancholy. Faith explained over the telephone that, if I could see her, she was weeping and wondering how she could get along without her dad. Now, she is on the Internet every day, snorkeling for new research, new strategies, new medications. My wife cries every morning, then rolls up her sleeves and handles all doctor appointments and medication. Without her… I cannot imagine.



OUR POLITICAL CLASS IS LOOKING TO CHINA AS A MODEL:  Hong Kong protester convicted in 1st trial under Chinese security law. “Leon Tong Ying-kit, a former restaurant cook, volunteered as a medic during the 2019 pro-democracy protests that rocked the city. He was convicted of terrorism and secession and faces a possible sentence of life in prison.”

All around the world, the global ruling classes are trying to bring the proles under firm control.


Stirring the Embers of Faith Commonweal Magazine “I like Graham Greene (He is great paired with Gore Vidal).”


Forget morality aeno. Aargh. I have two simple reasons for disagreeing. One is the notion of revulsion, that some acts are so horrid (like eating your children) that everyone recoils from them. Second is that every social animal species exhibits cheating behavior, which in turn often leads to altruistic punishment. I personally waste more time and energy than I should on altruistic punishment and applaud others who do too.



The Unmaking of Biblical Womanhood New Yorker (furzy). More interesting than you might assume.


The philosophy of porn Prospect Magazine


Burnout, anxiety, depression rising in college students amid pandemic.


 Something in Patients’ Eyes Could Reveal The Presence of ‘Long COVID’, Doctors Say.