-April 11th 2025
Longevity all too often means not a long life, but a long death. –Democritus

I plan to die when I am 80–a beautiful death. A death without pain or regret or surprise. I will die cogent, grateful, reconciled, and loved. There is a price for such a wonderful death and that is leaving a few good years unused. Not having the ability to predict the last good year, I have to be conservative. I can expect to be healthy and sound at 80. I am 48 today. That means I have 32 years of life left. What will I do with those years? How shall I arrange such an event? There are a lot of interesting questions to answer when one knows when they’re going to die. Who will be with me? What will I wear? What will be the last book I read? What will be the last song I hear? Can I perfect the end?