'Til death do us part...
Last week, I found myself in the middle of two "social" conversations that featured death as the main topic of discussion. One chat involved a friend who is convinced he'll be dead in seven years or less. If so, it won't be from natural causes. Even his doctor can't convince him that his recent bypass surgery was successful - and that he has a better chance of getting hit by a bus in the next few years, than dying of a heart attack. Another conversation involved a friend and her husband wrangling over the terms of their will. First they argued about which would be the first to die, and then they debated the length of time it would take the "survivor" to hook-up with a gold-digger . Both conversations surprised me. Death used to be off-limits (tabo o) in social settings. What do you say when someone announces their "imminent" death in seven years? Or when asked which partner you think will outlive the other? In both cases, I mu mbled something...