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Death is our greatest mystery

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By Raleigh Whiteman | Highlands Today

Published: July 1, 2009

Death is our greatest mystery

With the passing of three famous people this past week it came to my mind that they had lived good and prosperous lives, but still they died. Two died in their sleep while another died suffering.

There are many who would consider dying in sleep a blessing and hope that when their time comes they too will go peacefully without knowledge or forewarning and without pain. It is my contention that death is one of the most mysterious of life's adventures and there are few who can tell of their experience.

Since it is inevitable that we all must die and we get to do it, for the most part, just once, I believe it should be experienced with some awareness that it is happening. It may be likely, that even with the suffering, Farrah Fawcett regarded her dying an unpleasant but rewarding experience. Life is nothing more than a series of memories, which we create from moment to moment. When our life ends so do our memories but we leave memories with those we love. I, for one, want to experience my death and if there is pain, I hope they will be able to help without too much sedation. If I am able I will write about it up to the last moment.

Life in prison

This brings me to the punishment of Bernie Madoff for his evils against thousands of innocent people. He is a massive criminal and deserved the 150 year punishment. If life in prison could be made to be unbearable then that is what he deserves.

Madoff deserves to sit in a cold dark cell, like the Japanese do with their condemned prisoners, never knowing whether the footsteps coming down the corridor are coming with food or a rope to hang him.

I want to see those who worked in his offices and knew he was not purchasing any investments to be tried and convicted. The Securities and Exchange Commission needs to be investigated and those who overlooked Madoff's illegal dealings because it was too complicated and would involve the SEC too heavily. Of all the bailouts of billions of dollars to struggling entities that should be justified, it should be in some part to those who have lost their total life savings and incomes because they trusted the SEC.

Moon walker dies

From the surge of news reports regarding the untimely and unfortunate death of Michael Jackson, there seems to be an overwhelming number of those who dearly loved the man and had no recollection, belief or regard for the treacherous treatment the press and media laid upon him during the past few years regarding his unacceptable lifestyles with the children he had living with him and the charges of sexual misconduct from which he was eventually acquitted. The cause of his death will be weeks in proving. Brief reports suggest he died without knowing it was happening. He was loved by all those who knew him and loved his music.

Famous local

Locally, the death of Billy Mays was a total shock to me and unbelievable. I had watched his interview after the plane's nose wheel accident, and he seemed to be perfectly healthy. I really liked the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing in which they proved the product he was pitching was the real thing and really worked the way he was describing it.

While I do not have a single Michael Jackson recording, I would buy almost anything Mays was selling.

Raleigh Whiteman, of Lake Placid, can be reached on the Internet at rwwhiteman@comcast.net

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