Life Is Uncertain – updated 2017
Day 2 of my series on Sweets.
A few pet peeve contradictory morbid confessions here:
#1. I always feel morbidly curious about the following phenomenon. Not the people on the airplane that crashes, but the poor guy in the car that was driving over the bridge that the airplane smashed into. Airline passengers accept a certain level of risk, even if they do everything they can to avoid thinking about it. But a person sitting at home watching ‘Wheel of Fortune’ does not expect an airplane to come crashing in the front room and kill him. I feel for that guy. What an unlucky break, right?
#2. The idea that we should actually treat each day as our last. That would be completely obnoxious if it happened every day. People crying, confessing, forgiving, wearing their ugliest outfits (or no outfits) etc. Nothing would ever get done! There would be a lot of dessert eaten though, of that I am sure. The contradictory part is that because I was once almost killed unexpectedly (blown up in a boat explosion) I actually make a point of saying things to people in the moment because I know that I might not get the chance to say it later. Mostly they are just simple compliments. But I don’t go crazy about it. I probably did more often when I drank, but my last drink was over 16 years ago so I don’t have that excuse anymore!
Back to the quote. Of course really following this admonition is silly, you aren’t going to die any happier if you ate a bite of cake last or a bite of mashed potatoes. But if you imagine this simple idea. One day it will be your last day. Likely it will be when you are old, maybe it will be in your sleep. But then again it could be by comet or by stray nuclear fission, who knows.
But here is a way to make sure you die happy, or as happy as you can die considering you would rather keep watching Wheel of Fortune. Instead of worrying about eating sweets before the end, just be sweet until the end.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“Life is uncertain, eat dessert first.” – Ernestine Ulmer, 1925-not dead yet, American Writer