"Everything dies, baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back."
-B. Springsteen, 1982
As of this writing, death has only touched my life a couple of times. Once, when my father died in 1994 at the age of 81, and another time when a friend of mine named Cathie Bartz in 1993. She was only 24.
The death of my father wasn't really a shock to me. He was, after all, 81 years old and he had lived enough for two lifetimes. He married his first wife in his 30's, had two children, got divorced about 20 years later, then married my mom and had 3 more kids. By the time I was born his other children were already grown men having kids of their own. I was only 23 when my father died, and even though we didn't get along at all, I still wish I had a little more time with him, just to try to know him a little better.
Cathie's death, on the other hand, came as a very big shock to me. I met her the same day I met my longtime friend Jerry Yen. It was 1989 and I was a gathering of BBS (Bulletin Board System) geeks. Cathie was an overweight woman, not particularly attractive, but she had a real warmth about her. She was open and friendly, and someone who would actually listen to you if you had a problem. Since I was only 18 at the time, I had all kinds of problems, so she was always someone to lend an ear. It's rare to find a person like that these days. I had a very brief relationship with her, but she had so many personal issues that it would never have worked out between the two of us.
Cathie attended my wedding to Amber back in 1992, then she got married herself the following year. Shortly after her marriage, she was gone. She was killed while she was riding her motorcycle on the freeway. She hit a bump in the road, which threw her from the motorcycle. She was then hit by another car that was following behind her. It's pretty tragic when you think about it.
As a kid I used to be afraid of death. I remember crying in my bed one night, and my mother came in to ask me what was wrong.
"I'm afraid to die." I told her.
"Oh, silly boy!" she would reply. "You don't have to worry about that for a long, long time."
At the time, it made me feel better. When you're about 10 years old, and you think you have at least 70 or more years to go, it seems like an eternity. You don't think you'll ever get old.
But time goes by fast.....
I don't really fear death the way I used to. At least not natural death. I guess I fear violent death more than anything else. If I can live to be in my 80's, or even 90's, and watch my kids grow up, see my grandchildren, then I'll feel I've had a worthwhile life and the idea of death won't scare me.
Since I've become a parent, I've discovered that I do get a little more emotional when it comes to the death of children. I keep reading the news about the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestine. It seems for every terrorist that Israel is killing, they are also killing hundreds of women and children in the process. It doesn't seem like a good trade up to me. I understand the need for Israel to defend itself, but what they're doing seems like overkill. I don't understand why they can't just send in a team of assassins to take out the top terrorists one at a time, like they did with the terrorists behind the Munich massacre. Instead, they're just dropping tons of bombs all over the place, killing children, and creating even more anger and resentment. I know that if I lost a child, I'd be devastated, so I can imagine to some extent the grief that people are feeling over there.
I'd like to think that there's something better waiting for us beyond this life. That when our time is finally up, we'll meet up with all our loved ones who have gone before us. I think that's one of the purposes of religion, to ease your mind about dying. Death is one of life's big mysteries, and once we've solved it, it's too late to tell anyone else.
But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back."
-B. Springsteen, 1982
As of this writing, death has only touched my life a couple of times. Once, when my father died in 1994 at the age of 81, and another time when a friend of mine named Cathie Bartz in 1993. She was only 24.
The death of my father wasn't really a shock to me. He was, after all, 81 years old and he had lived enough for two lifetimes. He married his first wife in his 30's, had two children, got divorced about 20 years later, then married my mom and had 3 more kids. By the time I was born his other children were already grown men having kids of their own. I was only 23 when my father died, and even though we didn't get along at all, I still wish I had a little more time with him, just to try to know him a little better.
Cathie's death, on the other hand, came as a very big shock to me. I met her the same day I met my longtime friend Jerry Yen. It was 1989 and I was a gathering of BBS (Bulletin Board System) geeks. Cathie was an overweight woman, not particularly attractive, but she had a real warmth about her. She was open and friendly, and someone who would actually listen to you if you had a problem. Since I was only 18 at the time, I had all kinds of problems, so she was always someone to lend an ear. It's rare to find a person like that these days. I had a very brief relationship with her, but she had so many personal issues that it would never have worked out between the two of us.
Cathie attended my wedding to Amber back in 1992, then she got married herself the following year. Shortly after her marriage, she was gone. She was killed while she was riding her motorcycle on the freeway. She hit a bump in the road, which threw her from the motorcycle. She was then hit by another car that was following behind her. It's pretty tragic when you think about it.
As a kid I used to be afraid of death. I remember crying in my bed one night, and my mother came in to ask me what was wrong.
"I'm afraid to die." I told her.
"Oh, silly boy!" she would reply. "You don't have to worry about that for a long, long time."
At the time, it made me feel better. When you're about 10 years old, and you think you have at least 70 or more years to go, it seems like an eternity. You don't think you'll ever get old.
But time goes by fast.....
I don't really fear death the way I used to. At least not natural death. I guess I fear violent death more than anything else. If I can live to be in my 80's, or even 90's, and watch my kids grow up, see my grandchildren, then I'll feel I've had a worthwhile life and the idea of death won't scare me.
Since I've become a parent, I've discovered that I do get a little more emotional when it comes to the death of children. I keep reading the news about the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestine. It seems for every terrorist that Israel is killing, they are also killing hundreds of women and children in the process. It doesn't seem like a good trade up to me. I understand the need for Israel to defend itself, but what they're doing seems like overkill. I don't understand why they can't just send in a team of assassins to take out the top terrorists one at a time, like they did with the terrorists behind the Munich massacre. Instead, they're just dropping tons of bombs all over the place, killing children, and creating even more anger and resentment. I know that if I lost a child, I'd be devastated, so I can imagine to some extent the grief that people are feeling over there.
I'd like to think that there's something better waiting for us beyond this life. That when our time is finally up, we'll meet up with all our loved ones who have gone before us. I think that's one of the purposes of religion, to ease your mind about dying. Death is one of life's big mysteries, and once we've solved it, it's too late to tell anyone else.
Hey Ken,
ReplyDeleteOne thing you'll never hear about from the media is the number of people killed or injured in Israel by rocket attacks from Hamas, the terrorist organization that has taken over the government in Gaza. Israel is concerned enough about civilian casualties that it warned Hamas in advance that it was going to attack and where, diluting the element of surprise. Yet, Hamas did nothing to remove civilians from the areas. In contrast to Israel's warnings, Hamas has never given Israel the courtesy of a warning when they launch their rocket attacks - 6,464 total launches in the past 3 years and Israel did nothing because it might harm Palestinian civilians.
As you know, the Nazis killed the Jews by the millions during WWII and since it's birth as a nation, Israel has been relentlessly attacked by Arab states and terrorist groups who vow to never stop attacking them until they are wiped off the map. Additionally, when the president of Iran stated yesterday that Israel's continued existence isn't "feasible", you can begin to understand why they are finally swinging the hammer.
Thinking critically, a person might wonder where the over-kill is really coming from?
I suggest you read up on how the modern Palestinian - Israeli conflict began and how it has evolved in the past 25 years. The Palestinians have no one but themselves to blame for their predicament.