Death Perception

Funny thing—death. It could go either way. Either there’s something on the other side of it,  or there is not. Only one person I’ve ever heard of who survived it, on this earth. I’m going with Him! Even so, there’s a lot to be considered. People have been wondering about this for a very long time. Consider a few of the currents of human discourse that have swirled around throughout history, speculating on this thing called Death. One that I can think of: my own father’s death. He was a hard-working southern man from a large Baptist family, eleven souls. He was the oldest; he had seen some things in war and work and religion and life that provoked him toward a rejection of the Faith in which his parents had raised him.  Even though he was not a believer, some thread of the Christian bailiwick had stuck in his conscious mind. He told me one time that man was appointed “three score and ten” years to live. That’s King James Bible language. Curiously enough, at the age of 70, he passed from this life. Funny thing: death. That lifespan number that he remembered from the Bible was precisely correct in his case. Go figure. At his funeral, his Baptist brothers and sisters who arranged the funeral chose an old Baptist song; it started out like this:  "I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses." . . . because he was a gardener. I guess the brothers and sisters—my uncles and aunts—wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, even though he was thought to have rejected the faith, because, you know, we never really know about a person. I’ll get the full story about my father when I’m in heaven.  But let’s consider another case study on death: President John F. Kennedy. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were sitting in a 7th grade classroom, when our Principal, a nun, Sister Georgia, walked in unexpectedly and told us that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. She offered a brief eulogy, mentioning that “he (JFK) had ‘em backed up against the wall”, meaning the Russians during the Cuban missile crisis, 1962. It is profound that I remember that moment so vividly. Tragic thing, death. Maybe I was pondering death because of it’s preliminary effects, before the actual passing away. Just now, all the speculation and griping about President Biden’s apparent losing a few neurons along the path, as he approaches, at age 82, that fatal moment which we will all endure at some point in time. But you never know when. Funny thing, death. . . you never know when. Our President did what he had to by eliminating another election from his to-do list. He made the best possible choice by advocating for Vice President Harris, who will, I am sure, effectively prosecute trump in public discussion and debate. She will hold trump to account for his crimes, especially the insurrection that he drummed up--a rebellion against our Congress and our Constitution-- January 6, 2021. Oh, but, speaking of presidents in the context of death. . . brings to my mind President Abraham Lincoln, commemorating those fallen Union soldiers who had “given their last full measure of devotion” so that our nation could remain a United States, and so that black folk would no longer be enslaved.  But I need to wind this death preponderance down by saying: When I get to the other side, after being greeted by Christ and being given a pass, I look forward. to seeing President Lincoln in heaven, and shaking his hand. I will tell him:  “Job well done. We still need all the Union when can get in our United States of America.