About 2 months ago, a colleague of mine was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a verdict of “3-6 months.” She has handled it well, making all the necessary arrangements for her imminent death. She processed the necessary paperwork for an extended leave from work, and has since moved out to Minnesota where she will spend her remaining days. I really don’t know how I would react to such news. Would I curl up into a ball and stay in my home? Would I go out and do anything and everything I ever wanted, legal or illegal, healthy or unhealthy? Would I spend hours per day in the gym trying to make myself “better”? Would I sit in a church everyday asking God to forgive all my transgressions?
But the reality of it is, each of us could only have 3-6 months. Each of us could be breathing our last breath this very moment. We never know when Death will come, but we only know that someday he will. And a situation such as the one facing my colleague makes me realize that everyday is a blessing. It helps me try my hardest to live each day as it were my last for it very truly could be.
But I also realize that when facing the ho-hum boring stuff of everyday, it is so easy to forget that each day could be the last. It is very easy to just wish every weekday away, hoping for the weekend. It is very easy to continually long for that vacation that will take me away from it all if only for a short time.
Hard as it is, we must all cherish our lives each and every moment. We must live each day as it were our last. And we must do whatever we can to try to make our lives last longer. If you don’t exercise, start! Every one of us can walk. It doesn’t cost anything, and it only takes about an hour a few times a week. Will it guarantee a longer life? No. But it will make you feel a whole lot better, and may prolong your life a bit.
If you smoke, stop! Statistics are there. Even if you don’t die of lung cancer from cigarette smoking, you more than likely will face some medical problems that will diminish a fuller life. If you drink excessively, take it easy. Alcohol has been shown to be somewhat beneficial, but too much can kill you!
Stop and smell the roses. Reach for all the gusto life has to offer. I ate lunch with another former co-worker of mine yesterday. She’s in her mid 70’s, facing open heart surgery for the second time in October. But she truly is an inspiration. Like the Energizer Bunny, she never quits. She carried her portable oxygen tank to the restaurant, and just looked at it as part of life. My first thought after we finished our lunch and I went on my merry way was that if I had to carry an oxygen tank with me everywhere I went, I’d probably just stay inside my home and never leave. But then, I remembered my friend’s attitude. She was grabbing all she could of life despite facing medical issues and a surgery that could in reality, end her life. But she is adamant to make the most of what time she has left.
Yes, Death comes for us all sometime, maybe today, maybe not for another 80 years. But I guess what we need to do is keep him at bay as long as we can, and when he does come, tell him, “I’m ready ‘cause I’ve lived the MOST I could!”
Well, look out! God is getting ready to punish another "red" state, Texas? That is how I explain the current hurricanes, Katrina and now Rita. It's as good an explaination as Pat Robertson can give. Robertson said Katrina was God's punishment for Ellen Degeneres being the host of the Emmy Awards. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?” Robertson also noted that the last time Degeneres hosted the Emmys, in 2001, the September 11 terrorism attacks took place shortly before the ceremony. Earlier, Repent America, the anti-gay, conservative christian organization, blamed Katrina on the "Southern Decadence" gay celebration slated a few days after Katrina hit. Come on! God didnt' cause Katrina to punish anyone! What about when a natural disaster hits a town in the bible belt of America? Did God cause that too?
Most of you probably have heard or read by now that Baylor University, Texas, has decided to NOT allow Starbucks coffee cups with a quote from Armistead Maupin, a gay writer, to be sold on campus. The quote from Maupin that is on the coffee cups is, "My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short." The decision by Baylor is causing an uproar by gays all over America. To me, a gay man who also gets disgusted by all the anti-gay propaganda and actions in this country, it's no big deal. Baylor University is afterall, a Baptist university. It is a private institution. It can make its on choice on what it wants to sell on campus or not. If this were a public institution I may feel differently. If Starbucks itself said they were not going to allow any of the cups with Maupin's quote on it to be sold, I would be upset. My first thought about the whole issue was, "just boycott Starbucks!" But, it really isn't Starbucks fault either. If the people who attend Baylor aren't that upset with the university's decision, and I am not sure what the overall feeling is there, then I'm not going to upset with it either. I am not attending Baylor. But if the students/professors on Baylor's campus are that angry at the decision, then they need to do something. It is their decision to be at Baylor, and only their actions that can change the university's policy.
Sonnet Ehlers has developed a controversial device designed to decrease the problem of rape in South Africa and for women everywhere. The device nicknamed the "Rape Trap," is a condom-like device bristling with internal hooks designed to snare rapists during penetration. The device is inserted inside a woman's body, and it would hook onto the rapist and have to be surgically removed. It disables the rapist immediately, allowing the victim to escape, but the device does no permanent damage to the assailant, and it would not hurt the woman in anyway. Women would have to treat the device as any other safety device, making it part of
Well, now we can get down to it! Owens and McNabb have made up!
