Just Another Path
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Right near the end of Tolkien’s trilogy Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee have made it to Mordor, and the ring has been destroyed. They are rescued from the lava by Gandalf and the eagles, and they have returned to the Shire. Sam has married his sweetheart and they have already had children.
Gandalf shows up one day with a very old Bilbo. Along with Frodo and the other hobbits who helped with the difficult journey to destroy the ring, they all travel to the coast. They arrive just in time for Bilbo (and eventually Frodo also) to catch a ride on the very last Elven ship leaving middle earth.
I can think of nothing more revolting than an old person desperately clawing on to a few more days of life, even if it means losing all of one’s human dignity, suffering horribly, and harming one's surviving family financially. How incredibly arrogant and self-centered.
My Dad Benjamin Hadley Garland died of a heart attack at age 62. So did my mentor Gordon Sandoz Brown. Some people live to age 90 or more with their full mental faculties and an active, healthy body. My younger brother died in his sleep of hardening of the arteries. He was in his early forties. All three of these guys died quickly without a great deal of suffering. Good deaths. Smart guys.
Lots of people die in their 20’s fighting wars for the rich people who of course do not wish to risk their own lives or that of their children. And plenty of innocent, sober people die from drunk drivers. Or from an overdose of drugs.
My paternal grandfather was old, and after many years of smoking cigarettes he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. After getting all of his obligations, affairs, and finances in order he shot himself in the head with the .32 caliber semi-auto handgun he had bought during world war II. I was a young boy at the time and remember it well.
The point I’m trying to make is: If you manage to make it to your 60’s, and you have led an interesting and fulfilling life, then you should accept death with grace and dignity.
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------- “The journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path…one that we all must take.” - Gandalf
------- “I’m ready for another journey!” - Bilbo Baggins
------- “It’s like getting out of one car and getting into another.” - John Lennon
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