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Author Topic: If you could know the hour of your death
TMedina
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Bev does have a point - knowing I will not die until X time at Y date under Z circumstances, I could go absolutely nuts and raise all sorts of hell knowing I'd live through it. [Big Grin]

Of course, surviving and living through are two entirely different scenarios. [Big Grin]

-Trevor

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fiazko
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Part of me would want to know if I had months or years, but the exact moment in time and possible method is not something I would want to carry around. I think it would just tarnish whatever time I had left, and I'd rather live without that kind of emotional pain.
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Jess N
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Trevor:

My experience with your cow observations has been a moooooving experience. (Sorry, couldn't resist--I promise to stop).

I try not to think about dying too much. That could be because I would rather pretend I'm at least part hobbit and will live an extremely long, happy life.

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Noemon
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I wouldn't mind knowing. I wouldn't pay anything to find out, but if someone were handing the information out free, and I could know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was true, and it didn't involve them whipping out a gun, saying "right now, sucker," and pumping me full of lead? Sure, I'd be interested to know. I don't think it would bother me unduely.
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tt&t
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Joshy, I know lots you don't know. [Wink] [Wink]

Maybe I'm weird, but I think I would prefer to know. I'm a planner like that, I guess. It'd be like going on a holiday and not knowing when it was going to end -- just waking up one day and being told, right, that's it, go home today. I mean I'd want to do all the fun stuff I wanted to do on the holiday before the end. Then again, maybe I'd keep putting things off because I knew I had ages left (or not, as the case may be). I'd also like to have everything sorted, family, friends, etc, not leave loose ends.

Heh. I guess I'm just too organised. But I'm hopeless at making decisions, so I'd probably end up not knowing, because I'd procrastinate over deciding to know. [Razz]

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TMedina
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Jess - You want to be a long-lived hobbit? Make sure you have knockers on the door - you never want a wizard ringing.

-Trevor

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mackillian
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Does it tweak anyone else out to think that one day, they will actually die and everything will be different?
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Fitz
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I would want to know. Say I found out that I was going to die 4 or 5 years from now. I wouldn't bother finishing school or getting a job if I had that information. I'd just be a lazy prick for the rest of my short life. Hmm, sounds good.
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tt&t
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Oh and just to clarify, you only get to know the time, not how or where or anything else. You just can't change how, where, or when, even though you know when.

There is no charge, all you have to do to find out is ask. The information is 100% accurate.

[ August 26, 2004, 12:14 AM: Message edited by: tt&t ]

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Icarus
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Goodness no! Did you read my landmark?

[Smile]

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Rappin' Ronnie Reagan
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quote:
Does it tweak anyone else out to think that one day, they will actually die and everything will be different?
Yes. Very much so.
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blacwolve
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AS my middle school social studies teacher said, 'As long as I haven't died, I have no proof that I'm not the first of a race of immortals.'

[Big Grin]

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Zevlag
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I like that line.
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tt&t
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Icky -- yes. I just re-read it, in fact. Still brilliant. [Smile]
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Icarus
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[Blushing]

Aw, shucks--cut that out!

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ReikoDemosthenes
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I think I might like to know when I would die...although I have to admit I'd get awfully nervous if I was in a potentially very painful situation right near the end of the countdown...

but I would like to prepare everyone so they might be able to handle it better...

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MaydayDesiax
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Honestly, I don't know if I want to know or not. If I die early, I would live the rest of my life disappointed. If I die late, I'd do stupid stuff for the rest of my life.

I guess that I don't want to know. Just guess and live each day to the fullest.

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Carrie
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I think I'd want to know. Big Fish kinda sums up why...

quote:
I was thinking about death and all. About seeing how you’re gonna die. I mean, on one hand, if dying was all you thought about, it could kind of screw you up. But it could kind of help you, couldn’t it? Because you’d know that everything else you can survive ... From that moment on, I no longer feared death. And for that, I was as good as immortal.

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Nato
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http://www.deathclock.com/

I don't think I'd want to know exactly when I would die. I'd rather know how I was going to die. (And then relax if it was one of those nice die-in-your-sleep-with-family-all-around sorts of things).

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Little_Doctor
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According to deathclock.com i'm going to die whn i'm 90. Excuse me while i go hang myself, and survive.

Of course everyone knws i'm immortal so it wont matter anyways. Nah Nah Poo Poo

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Ralphie
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I don't really plan on dying.
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katharina
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Yes. I want to know.
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Corwin
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I plan to live forever... or die trying...

And knowing FOR SURE when you'd die raises so many questions I don't even want to think about it.

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tt&t
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Oh, I know it raises a lot of questions. It couldn't work -- people could run up huge debts or commit crimes just before they died, or even just quit their job and live on the unemployment benefit. People could do ridiculous things and take huge risks throughout their lives knowing they wouldn't die until that hour. No, it wouldn't work in practise. I was just curious whether people would want to know, and why. [Smile]

On a sidenote, assuming you could find out, would you want to know the date of your partner/spouse/child/parents death? Each person can only ask the date of their own death, so you wouldn't know unless they knew, but would you want them to tell you?

For me, I think it'd be fine not knowing if they didn't want to know themselves. But if they did know, then I would probably want them to tell me. Heck, I think I just like knowing things. Just call me Nosey Parker. [Wink]

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Corwin
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Ok, ok, IF it were possible, all questions aside... I think yes, I'd be interested. And also interested in knowing when everybody would die.

Remember, it's not curiosity that killed the cat. It's hesitation.

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katharina
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I am not a fan of personal uncertainty. I'm irritated I don't know this information already.
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Zotto!
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I'm torn between knowing or not knowing when I'll be snuffed out.

On the one hand, I'm like you, Kylie, in that I'd like to know and plan for all the assorted loose ends that surround death.

On the other, it gives me the heeby-freakin-jeebies to think of my body being wormfood, so I'm not sure if I'd REALLY want to know. *laugh*

I think I'm leaning more towards the "know" side (in this hypothetical world where I have no chance of changing the future, which I don't believe).

All this entropy sucks. Stoppit rightnow! *glares at universe*

[ August 26, 2004, 06:34 AM: Message edited by: Zotto! ]

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Raia
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quote:
I'd choose to not know. If I knew I'd spend the rest of my life worrying about how close to that moment I was getting.
ExACTly.
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Elizabeth
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If I were terminally ill, I would like to know how much time I really had. I knew someone with cancer who suffered through all sorts of treatments to gain time, and then died within six months. His wife said if they had known, they would have spent more time living than trying not to die.

My mother was not told she was going to die, even though I am pretty sure she must have known. That was my grandmother's idea, to hide that fact from her. What right did she have to do that?

I also think of Warren Zevon, and I listen to what he did with his remaining time. Just beautiful.

[ August 26, 2004, 08:45 AM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]

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Dagonee
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This happened with my dad's mother. They didn't want her to know how serious it was, so they wouldn't let him say goodbye to her. This still bothers him 35 years later.

Dagonee

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Farmgirl
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I wouldn't want to know the exact hour/day I was going to die. However, like Elizabeth, if I were dying witha terminal disease, I would like for them to be truthful with me about how approximately how long I had left, so I would know how much time I have to get my affairs in order for my kids.....

Farmgirl

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Elizabeth
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Was he a child when it happened, Dag? (I am actually afraid of this answer, thinking he might be around my age)

I think that, as a society, we tend to try to shield children from death in their real life, while bombarding them with it in books and on television. It always confused me as a small child, because there were all my devoutly Christian family members said that there was a Heaven, but then they were so sad when a person actually got to go there. I always wondered why I couldn't go to the party.

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Dagonee
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He had just graduated college. The thing is, he knew she was probably going to die, but she wasn't told. He thinks she actually knew, though, because she told him whatever happened he was not to postpone his wedding.

Dagonee

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Elizabeth
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Oh, how sad.

Sometimes, in my more cynical moments, when people here say "Hatrack is my family," I think, why would you want it to be? I think people's own families can hurt them worse than anyone else, sometimes. (recent family strife has kicked me into cynical mode on this)

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Dagonee
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That's true. In this case, everyone was acting out of love with absolutely the best intentions. Doesn't make it hurt any less, though.

Dagonee

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Elizabeth
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No, it doesn't, and it is hard to confront a family member when they put up the wall of best intentions. You don't want to hurt them, either, and the hurt can't be taken back anyway, so you are left with simmering resentment.
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Scott R
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It's going to take me one whole hour to die?

Man, I coulda done without that information. . .

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Dagonee
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Elizabeth, his dad might have been just following the doctors' advice. He had limited education and was likely not up to questioning their advice.

This was before a lot of the reforms to end-life care were made.

Dagonee

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Elizabeth
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True, Dag. Things are definitely different now. I try to be as honest as I can with my kids without going over the line to scaring them. It is very hard!

Have you listened to Warren Zevon's last album? I was so impressed that he did that. Some of the songs are funny, some are heart wrenching, and he asked many of his old music compatriots to help him, so it is a star-fest.

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Dagonee
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quote:
Have you listened to Warren Zevon's last album? I was so impressed that he did that. Some of the songs are funny, some are heart wrenching, and he asked many of his old music compatriots to help him, so it is a star-fest.
No, I haven't heard it, but I'm definitely going to check it out soon.

Dagonee

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mackillian
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quote:
I am not a fan of personal uncertainty. I'm irritated I don't know this information already.
[ROFL]
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beverly
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I love my family, and they mean so much to me. All of my family. For me to say that Hatrack is like family is a high complement. I am sad that so many people have such painful experiences in their family and I wish things could be different. [Frown]
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beverly
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Elizabeth, I share your strong feelings about death and children. I have tried to discuss death openly with my children. For instance, we have good friends whose little 1 year old daughter had to go through open-heart-surgery. When we talked to our 5 year old son about praying for her, we were very up-front about the idea that she might die and that would make us all very sad.

I think that the funerals that I have been to have not been overly sad because of the honest-to-goodness faith of those in attendance about an afterlife. There is a certain joy and peace at these funerals, and it does feel like a celebration of their life. It is a time for family to get together and enjoy each other while discussing how wonderful the person who died was. It is a healing, beautiful time. The only sorrow is at the temporary separation. We miss them, but we are happy for them at the same time.

[ August 26, 2004, 10:22 AM: Message edited by: beverly ]

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Little_Doctor
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When I grow up, I'm going to be God. Then i won't have to worry about this nonsense.
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Elizabeth
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Beverly, I love my family, too. They just don't seem to love each other anymore. (not my immediate family, my extended, and my hub's as well)
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beverly
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I understand, Elizabeth. I'm really lucky to have the family that I do have. Certainly the people closest to you have the most opportunity to hurt you deeply, so it's not surprising that so many have been deeply hurt by even well-meaning family members.
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beverly
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Little Doctor: There can be only One .

YEEAH!

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LadyDove
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I have recently experienced both the best and worst of believing in heaven. During the trip to say a final goodbye to my dad-in-law, we explained to the boys that Grandpa was very sick and might die.

My 5 year old said, "He will die and go to live with God." He then went back to singing a silly song.

The simple faith and comfort of that statement awed me. There is no fear of death in this little boy. There is no fear in this little person.

Later, and quite out of the blue, he said. "Mom, I want to die."
Startled and already sad, I said, "Honey, why do you say that?"

He said, "Because I want to see God and go play with Grandpa."

I know I'm selfish, but when heaven starts luring my little boy before he has even had a life, heaven scares the hell out of me.

As for the original question, I'm only interested in making sure that my kids outlive me, and I plan to live a long time.

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Corwin
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Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.
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Noemon
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I really don't have much fear of death anyomore. When I was younger I did--I was terrified of it. Now, though, not so much. I'm not looking forward to the dying part, and I don't like the idea of going before my loved ones do, and having my death cause them pain. Death itself, though, doesn't hold any real terror for me. Of course, I've also never been in a position where, say, I was looking down the end of a gun or something, so it's entirely possible that this lack of fear would melt away when push came to shove.
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