Dr. Shades wrote:Heh, I can only wish that women laughing at me equated to them wanting to get into my pants. How much better would my life be??
Hey man, getting them laughing is the first step.
Dr. Shades wrote:While viewing the "proceedings," I was struck by how infinitely effective of an equalizer death is. Simply put, all of us are quite literally 100% equal when naked and deceased on the examination table. At that point, within less than a mere 24 hours after death, EVERYTHING that we all spend so much of our time and attention pursuing had vanished into thin air. There was no indication of who had achieved what level of education, who drove the fanciest car, who had the most prestigious career, who made the most money, who had voted for which candidate, or who wore the most expensive designer clothes. ALL of those trappings had utterly departed. To the autopsy techs, the only difference between one "case" and another is the weight of the various internal organs--an aspect of ourselves that NO human being uses as an excuse to discriminate against, persecute, or hate each other. Once again, when it's all over, WE'RE ALL, EVERY ONE OF US, 100% EQUAL when naked and deceased on the examination table.
I accompanied the techs as they wheeled the cases back into the walk-in refrigerator following two of the procedures. I was struck, and existentially saddened, by the impersonal anonymity of the individuals therein. Each of them were now in bags on those wheeled exam tables, along with probably 15 or so others laying on the shelves or on other tables, waiting for the funeral homes to come and collect them. At that point, I was relieved to know that their individuality and humanity would soon be recaptured during their funerals as they were remembered and celebrated by their loved ones.
Now, don't get me wrong: The autopsy techs and forensic pathologist were 100% professional. There was no disrespect whatsoever cast on the deceased. Yet they had a job to do, and they did so methodically and routinely, as you'd expect. So I was struck by a third thing that day: That in the end, the ONLY thing that stays with each of us after the procedure is over is the quality and quantity of the memories we leave with those who survive us. THAT, and THAT ALONE, will differentiate us one from the other once we're gone. So, in order to have the final memories of us be more than just what an autopsy tech remembers, it's imperative to create, and thereby implant, the BEST possible memories, in both quality and quantity, with those who will remember us after we're gone. Not just with our closest loved ones, but with EVERYONE who stands any chance of remembering us after our passing. It won't be clothes, it won't be careers, it won't be educations, it will be MEMORIES that will be all that's left of us (on this earth, if you believe in an afterlife) after we're gone.
So we'd all better make sure they're good ones.
Great thoughts. I completely agree.
Makes you wonder just how important it is to have an official band for a religious themed message board.