"I have the hope that I would be strong enough in body and mind to walk in the wild so far away from roads or people that I would not have the strength to make it back. Maybe in Winter to fall asleep before dying of thirst. I would love to be lying on earth and look at the sky in my last minutes the way I have lived my life- with dirt under my fingernails."

— Chloe De Segonzac

Some other options:

"Don’t care. When we die, we die. We have no knowledge of it and no knowledge of what is going on in the world we leave behind. Whatever makes my loved one have an easier time coping with it."

— Daniel Wilson

"I want my organs to be donated and what’s left of my body to be buried in one of those organic cocoons that will spring into a tree."

— Kata Karáth

"For those that live near the ocean I may suggest the deep 6 or Navy burial. Just weight down the cadaver and drop it in the ocean for the denizens of the deep to enjoy."

— USMC1954

The last one makes me laugh as I imagine someone enjoying their especially tasty lobster. Circle of life!

I want to die in a barrage of gunfire saving the world

The time, place and method of our dying has already been determined.

Now, we just need to live our lives and wait. It'll come soon enough.

I have to admit it has crossed my mind.

My father n law, had a couple massive strokes, not long after quadruple bi-pass, when he was in his mid-50's. (smoker). Thereafter he was bed ridden for 9 years before finally passing away. His quality of life for those 9 years were near zero. Sometimes he would recognize you, sometimes not. He had problems handling flashing pictures, so couldn't watch movies or tv.

I don't want to go that way.

When my mother passed away last year, she already had severe dementia, and then also suffered a severe stroke. It was determined that she would never regain reasonable function of her motor skills, and limited use of her brain, so she basically dehydrated to death. It took about 10 days. She couldn't swallow, and they stopped giving her food and fluids intravenously. It was horrible watching her go in this way.

For those reasons, the thought has occurred to me, to paddle out to the middle of a boundary waters lake, tie weights to my feet, and tip the canoe over. But someone would likely have to retrieve my body, so that won't work.

I hadn't thought about going for a hike in the winter, and freezing to death.

So yeah, i've contemplated something like that. Just go on my terms, where I want to go. Maybe that's what I was subconsciously doing, when I was ice fishing on WBL last Saturday. I was the only one out there, and I could feel the ice giving under my weight on the way out. After 3 hours of fishing on 10 inches of honecombed gray ice, the walk back was treacherous. I eventually fell through in waste deep water. I told my wife before heading out, that if I died, don't feel bad, I died happy, doing something I like to do.

It's my long range plan, but I'm putting it off for now. The current trend of spending a year denying the inevitable while groveling thru a series of debilitating "treatments" sucks. My only worry is my wonderful dog who is going to be really dismayed--cause she'll probably be with me.

sunnybear09: "It's my long range plan, but I'm putting it off for now. The current trend of spending a year denying the inevitable while groveling thru a series of debilitating "treatments" sucks. My only worry is my wonderful dog who is going to be really dismayed--cause she'll probably be with me. "

My wife and I have reached 60+ and have already decided not to get anymore dogs once the current lot passes. That way, we won't have the worries you expressed.

We have 8 dogs now, all of which are house companions, ranging in age from 3 -12 years old. 2 Labs, Rottweiler, Pekinese, Frenchton and 3 Heinz 57's. All 8 started of as fosters that we later adopted.

i hear magic mushrooms help people get ready for death...... :)

missmolly: ""I have the hope that I would be strong enough in body and mind to walk in the wild so far away from roads or people that I would not have the strength to make it back. Maybe in Winter to fall asleep before dying of thirst. I would love to be lying on earth and look at the sky in my last minutes the way I have lived my life- with dirt under my fingernails."

— Chloe De Segonzac"

I'd like to be eaten by wolves. Of course this would be terrible for those who outlive me because I am soooo tasty, the wolves would come searching for more.

But seriously, I'd prefer the matter that comprises my body be free to return to and comingle with the rest of the planet not, be constrained inside a concrete vault.

murphylakejim: "i hear magic mushrooms help people get ready for death...... :)"

i heard magic mushrooms help some get straight for living, too.
useful little buggers, aren't they.

I've never found it appealing to spend the final hour(s) in a hospital setting. I wish to see trees & sky during my parting hours. Any spot with a view of the woods would be good.

missmolly: "Some other options:


"Don’t care. When we die, we die. We have no knowledge of it and no knowledge of what is going on in the world we leave behind. Whatever makes my loved one have an easier time coping with it."


— Daniel Wilson


"I want my organs to be donated and what’s left of my body to be buried in one of those organic cocoons that will spring into a tree."


— Kata Karáth"

I have not heard of the cocoon idea, hmmmmm, intriguing. I do want my loved ones to be spared wondering and worrying. But after my soul is gone, I'd love most of my body to be returned to the earth. Thinking cremation and they can sprinkle me in my favorite places (BWCA, Kinsarvik, Shenandoah, Assateague, and family farm? - may change by then though). They can also keep pieces of me in their homes if they want, lol. I'd like a peaceful and pain free death please. I believe I will have some say in how it happens and when I'm ready. I'm not a long hospital stay kind of person.

Not yet ;)

I am lucky to say that I've never stayed in a hospital since birth 63 years ago. I would enjoy a state record brookie pulling me over the side of my canoe at about 30 years from now,if I could be that fortunate! Good day, everyone! Marc

I want to die in my sleep like my Grandpa did..................not kicking and screaming like the rest of the folks in his car.

LuvMyBell: "The time, place and method of our dying has already been determined.

Now, we just need to live our lives and wait. It'll come soon enough."

I couldn't have come up with anything better than this if I thought about it all night! I'd prefer NOT to go on a trip because I'd hate to burden others with the grotesque task of my recovery, though.

analyzer: "I have to admit it has crossed my mind.

For those reasons, the thought has occurred to me, to paddle out to the middle of a boundary waters lake, tie weights to my feet, and tip the canoe over. But someone would likely have to retrieve my body, so that won't work.
"

analyzer, here is how you do that so no one goes on a search and rescue for you.

Go to an isolated lake in the sticks with a boat.
Weight the boat down with things heavier than water, chain and lock them to the boat.
Chain yourself to the boat around your ankle with a padlock.
Get into the middle (Deep) part of the lake on a calm sunny day.
Disable any mode of propulsion.
Pull the plug on the boat, throw any keys into the water so you can't chicken out, and enjoy the beauty around you.

It will not be a Viking cerimony with fire, but it should have the same ending.

PS,
I am not suicidal nor have ever consiered this seriously for my demise.
I have just lived out in the sticks too long in my life, (on lakes) with too much time for thought.

mjmkjun: "

murphylakejim: "i hear magic mushrooms help people get ready for death...... :)"

i heard magic mushrooms help some get straight for living, too.
useful little buggers, aren't they.


I've never found it appealing to spend the final hour(s) in a hospital setting. I wish to see trees & sky during my parting hours. Any spot with a view of the woods would be good. "

I spent five weeks sleeping in a chair in intensive care this past year. That's no place to die.

I too have dirt under my fingernails and want to die beneath trees, which mean evermore to me.

sunnybear09: "It's my long range plan, but I'm putting it off for now. The current trend of spending a year denying the inevitable while groveling thru a series of debilitating "treatments" sucks. My only worry is my wonderful dog who is going to be really dismayed--cause she'll probably be with me. "

I am sad to read this, sunnybear.

I've watched my in-laws and my parents go through dementia and do not want to go out that way. I intend to, one day, go for a long walk in a wilderness area and never come back. I just hope I don't wait too long and end up in a nursing home first. Then I'm screwed!
There was just a story of a 104 yr old man who is flying to Switzerland so that he can die with dignity. Shouldn't have to go outside the country to do that. It should be an option here. Yes there would need to be safe guards, but it should be an option.

missmolly: ""Don’t care. When we die, we die. We have no knowledge of it and no knowledge of what is going on in the world we leave behind. Whatever makes my loved one have an easier time coping with it."

Wow. I would have a difficult time wording my disagreement with that BS.

So no one wants to go out on a Viagra overdose?
Some of you sound like you have put a little too much thought into this subject.

missmolly: "

sunnybear09: "It's my long range plan, but I'm putting it off for now. The current trend of spending a year denying the inevitable while groveling thru a series of debilitating "treatments" sucks. My only worry is my wonderful dog who is going to be really dismayed--cause she'll probably be with me. "

I am sad to read this, sunnybear. "

Oh, Molly, please do not worry!! My health is perfect and I have no reason not to believe I will last many more good years. But my dogs have always been my best friends, my emotional anchors and I cannot imagine myself without such a friend. I have trips planned for this year--a paddle and portage to the BW in June and a self-planned/guided canoe trip above the Arctic circle in Alaska with fly-in/out in July. Then maybe Montana in October for fishing after the crowds leave. I do love a road trip! I refuse to "go gently into that good night"! And we always have memories to fill out the days in between!

JJ396: "I've watched my in-laws and my parents go through dementia and do not want to go out that way. I intend to, one day, go for a long walk in a wilderness area and never come back. I just hope I don't wait too long and end up in a nursing home first. Then I'm screwed!
There was just a story of a 104 yr old man who is flying to Switzerland so that he can die with dignity. Shouldn't have to go outside the country to do that. It should be an option here. Yes there would need to be safe guards, but it should be an option."

I understand your approach completely. My plan "B" is to sit in my car in the garage with the engine running and read myself to "sleep" with a really meaningful book--probably Robert Traver's "Trout Madness"--I owe the man so much!

PowerLizard: "So no one wants to go out on a Viagra overdose?

There was a Hill Street Blues episode along that line, way back when...

"At the hand of a jealous husband" - Anonymous

KarlBAndersen1: "

missmolly: ""Don’t care. When we die, we die. We have no knowledge of it and no knowledge of what is going on in the world we leave behind. Whatever makes my loved one have an easier time coping with it."

Wow. I would have a difficult time wording my disagreement with that BS."

You punctuated this as if I wrote it: "Don’t care. When we die, we die. We have no knowledge of it and no knowledge of what is going on in the world we leave behind. Whatever makes my loved one have an easier time coping with it."

Clearly, it's emotive for you.

sunnybear09: "

missmolly: "

sunnybear09: "It's my long range plan, but I'm putting it off for now. The current trend of spending a year denying the inevitable while groveling thru a series of debilitating "treatments" sucks. My only worry is my wonderful dog who is going to be really dismayed--cause she'll probably be with me. "

I am sad to read this, sunnybear. "

Oh, Molly, please do not worry!! My health is perfect and I have no reason not to believe I will last many more good years. But my dogs have always been my best friends, my emotional anchors and I cannot imagine myself without such a friend. I have trips planned for this year--a paddle and portage to the BW in June and a self-planned/guided canoe trip above the Arctic circle in Alaska with fly-in/out in July. Then maybe Montana in October for fishing after the crowds leave. I do love a road trip! I refuse to "go gently into that good night"! And we always have memories to fill out the days in between!"

Whew! Cast on!

JJ396: "I've watched my in-laws and my parents go through dementia and do not want to go out that way. I intend to, one day, go for a long walk in a wilderness area and never come back. I just hope I don't wait too long and end up in a nursing home first. Then I'm screwed!
There was just a story of a 104 yr old man who is flying to Switzerland so that he can die with dignity. Shouldn't have to go outside the country to do that. It should be an option here. Yes there would need to be safe guards, but it should be an option."

I have a friend whose mother died of ALS and she and her sibs made an assisted suicide pact should it strike one of them.

“When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did -- in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.

Jack Handey

When I was still working, my partner and I were sent out on a lake at about midnight in an attempt to locate a missing fisherman. We located him after about a twenty minute search, deceased from what we later found out was a heart attack. In his net, in the boat, with the hook still in its mouth was a 28 inch walleye. As the senior deputy on duty, I was the one who had to tell his wife that we had found him. As she asked several questions,I explained about the walleye, She said she knew then that he was happy just before he died because that was the biggest walleye he had ever caught.
I don’t think I would want to go that way, I would rather be able to say goodbye to my family, then go to sleep.
Bottom line though I also believe it is predetermined, so I don’t even think about how when or where I will go, I just accept the fact that I will go, and am confident that I will go to a good place.

Yikes! Morbid thread!
Lots of ideas as to how to end your life. Most folks have plans as to what to do when their time is coming.
Theoretically they seem to fit. However, my observation is that despite most of us wanting to end our lives on our own terms it rarely happens the way we might have originally plan. Instead, mankind's near universal will to live trumps most of those plans. Clearly, there are exceptions but they are rare.
Many end of life illnesses are horrible to endure and observe. Many of us have been a part of one. Thankfully, many conditions are now managed well and allow the dying experience to be a process filled with grace and compassion. I have been a part of two of these and while very emotional they were very rewarding in their own way.
Just my observations.

"I don't wanna die
I just wanna ride my motorcy
cle"

People don’t decide to die while undergoing difficult medical treatments. They decide to fight for life and hope and time with the people they love. I’ve spent a lot of the last decade in cancer treatment and watching other patients and what I’ve seen is bravery and courage and dignity and love and inspiration. And yes, there are times that bravery leads to changing the fight from seeking a cure to seeking peace. But a lot of the time there is hope and one more thing to try and sometimes it works. And I’ll risk dying in a hospital to take those chances. Because life is great no matter where you are.

We know not the day or the hour. This is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad. No need to plan your demise. That is already taken care of.

BnD: "We know not the day or the hour. This is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad. No need to plan your demise. That is already taken care of."

Thank you. I have been trying to formulate a response with some faith and hope included, but this may be enough of what I wanted to say.

Many years back a guy hung himself on a small rock island on Basswood. It was in a spot that you could easily see him from the water. It wasn't long before the seagulls helped return him to the earth.

Me? I am to busy living to think about dying!

Does anyone want to die in the woods?

Only if it's quick and painless.

I don't think so guys. My grandmother had a nice full life. At 85 still living on her own, able to get around just fine, she went to bed and fell asleep then she woke up in heaven. Completely painless death; strong till the end. I think living a full life for God, trying to stay in shape, getting out every day, hanging out with family and friends then one day going to bed then waking up in heaven sounds pretty good to me.

mutz: "When I was still working, my partner and I were sent out on a lake at about midnight in an attempt to locate a missing fisherman. We located him after about a twenty minute search, deceased from what we later found out was a heart attack. In his net, in the boat, with the hook still in its mouth was a 28 inch walleye. As the senior deputy on duty, I was the one who had to tell his wife that we had found him. As she asked several questions,I explained about the walleye, She said she knew then that he was happy just before he died because that was the biggest walleye he had ever caught."

From the moment twenty years ago that I first realized I was in love with an obsessive fisherman (who has a strong family history of cardiac issues), I've been mentally preparing myself for the fact that he may very well leave this life face down in a stream or river after having "the big one". For his sake, I hope it is with a monster walleye or trout on the line! It is how he would want it to end, and I'm content with that.

While I doubt that I'll have much say in when or how I make my exit, well, if I'm lucky enough to tip over under a tree or in the woods, so be it. My fantasies of being able to "wander off" into the woods when its my time are tempered by the knowledge that it would cause a great deal of emotional stress, hassle and financial hardship for my loved ones who would first have to find me to prove I am indeed dead, then prove that it wasn't suicide to collect on any life insurance, as well as dealing with the wholly unfounded guilt that would accompany that kind of death.

When my time comes I would be honored to pass in the woods. The only other place I would choose would be very early morning at our Garden Center. Right after sunrise when all the plants have been freshly watered , and all the displays are fully stocked, and I am the only one there is as close to the feeling of serenity that I experience that compares to being “up North”

andym: "People don’t decide to die while undergoing difficult medical treatments. They decide to fight for life and hope and time with the people they love. I’ve spent a lot of the last decade in cancer treatment and watching other patients and what I’ve seen is bravery and courage and dignity and love and inspiration. And yes, there are times that bravery leads to changing the fight from seeking a cure to seeking peace. But a lot of the time there is hope and one more thing to try and sometimes it works. And I’ll risk dying in a hospital to take those chances. Because life is great no matter where you are."

I completely get that and I know I have a lot of that in me. I love life and plan to hang on for a long long time!

Not exactly related, but yesterday as I was pulling my canoe out of a metro area lake, I watched as a large family assisted a woman - their mom, grandma, great-grandma - get into a tandem kayak. She was 105 years old!!

This woman walked to the front of the kayak using her walker, then two relatives helped ease her into the cockpit.

I really hope to be so lucky - to live that long and to have family that is willing to assist me in outdoor activities!

GraniteCliffs: "Yikes! Morbid thread!
Thankfully, many conditions are now managed well and allow the dying experience to be a process filled with grace and compassion. I have been a part of two of these and while very emotional they were very rewarding in their own way.
Just my observations."

I disagree with the dying experience being filled with "grace". Nothing graceful about someone dying in pain and having dementia. Extending the life of demetia patients is something I don't want anything to do with. I'll take a walk in the woods and freezing before I do that. I'd go with assisted suicide if it was an option but people are afraid of it for some reason. If you don't agree with it, don't do it.
Family history has a lot to do with my thought process. If my family had genes that let them live to an old age with good mental health I would have different ideas. I'm just going with the hand I was dealt.

Watched my mother die of cardiac arrest, due to a heart attack, in the family home at 44. I was 18. I feel as though that'll be my demise too. Problem is, I have a 4 and 3 year old at home and I'll be 40 in a month and a half. Hoping I can hang on until they're out of college at least.

Spartan2: "

BnD: "We know not the day or the hour. This is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad. No need to plan your demise. That is already taken care of."

Thank you. I have been trying to formulate a response with some faith and hope included, but this may be enough of what I wanted to say.


"

+1

JJ396: "

GraniteCliffs: "Yikes! Morbid thread!
Thankfully, many conditions are now managed well and allow the dying experience to be a process filled with grace and compassion. I have been a part of two of these and while very emotional they were very rewarding in their own way.
Just my observations."

I disagree with the dying experience being filled with "grace". Nothing graceful about someone dying in pain and having dementia. Extending the life of demetia patients is something I don't want anything to do with. I'll take a walk in the woods and freezing before I do that. I'd go with assisted suicide if it was an option but people are afraid of it for some reason. If you don't agree with it, don't do it.
Family history has a lot to do with my thought process. If my family had genes that let them live to an old age with good mental health I would have different ideas. I'm just going with the hand I was dealt."

I told my sister last night. I'm trying to hurry up and get all my physical stuff taken care of so I don't die broken.

GraniteCliffs: "

JJ396: "

GraniteCliffs: "Yikes! Morbid thread!
Thankfully, many conditions are now managed well and allow the dying experience to be a process filled with grace and compassion. I have been a part of two of these and while very emotional they were very rewarding in their own way.
Just my observations."

I disagree with the dying experience being filled with "grace". Nothing graceful about someone dying in pain and having dementia. Extending the life of demetia patients is something I don't want anything to do with. I'll take a walk in the woods and freezing before I do that. I'd go with assisted suicide if it was an option but people are afraid of it for some reason. If you don't agree with it, don't do it.
Family history has a lot to do with my thought process. If my family had genes that let them live to an old age with good mental health I would have different ideas. I'm just going with the hand I was dealt."


"

I am a little confused by your response to my post. I am unsure why you chose to cut and paste and delete a portion of what I posted. By doing that it completely misrepresents what I said.
My post said "Many end of life illnesses are horrible to endure and observe. Many of us have been a part of one." It would appear this language would apply in your case. My post recognized what you are saying. I think we would be in agreement on that.
I went on to recognize other types of end of life experiences. They reflect my own personal experiences. And, yes, they involved grace and compassion without the agony and pain that sometimes exist.

trying to end the quote madness

We just watched my father in law pass away after more than 10 years of health issues. The last three years were just awful, no quality of life. I don't want that. I would prefer to go quickly in my sleep but the time and place isn't my choosing.

I just am starting to think I might decline any medical help if I get sick.

Sorry Granite Cliffs, it was not meant to misrepresent what you said. I just try to cut down on all the repeated posts. Sorry.

I will say that there were many great and sympathetic people that I dealt with in the health care system. The people were great! The system is flawed.

LuvMyBell: "The time, place and method of our dying has already been determined.
"

By whom? The God I serve is the author of life, not death. And He has determined good for me and not ill.

Will The Lord be present at the time of my departure? Most assuredly for where will I go where He is not?

If the time, place and method of our dying has already been "planned" then what say you of Ecclesiastes 7;17 "Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool, why die before your time"? And again in the same book "........time and chance happens to us all" (ecc 9;11). Which in my mind, is the very definition of luck (time and chance). Somebody gets a text, looks down from the road, and wipes a bicyclist out. Was that preordained? I say nay. Was the Lord there? Did he know it was going to happen? Indeed.......but He is not the cause.

Not so sure I would like to die in the woods...........Ideally it would be nice to be around at the time of the rapture (we will all be changed, in the twinkling of eye......")

The woods would be a fine place to die. Preferably a number of years in the future, but one never knows.

It's funny how we can have similar experiences and they influence our views differently. A friend told me how her mom died, spending 18 months in a nursing home after suffering a catastrophic stroke. When she was with it she begged to go home, and at one point when told she couldn't go home she pounded her head on the wall and begged her daughter to kill her. I said that must have been hard, and maybe it would have been a blessing if she had not survived the first stroke. My friend said no, it was a blessing she survived and they had the opportunity to visit her in the nursing home.

By comparison, in January my Dad chose to end treatment for his advanced emphysema. He could have survived several more months, maybe many more months, but would have become house bound and lingered. We brought him home on hospice care and made damn sure he got his liquid morphine every 2 hours as prescribed. We didn't get to visit with him for 18 months, but he was in no pain. We miss him terrible, but he had a good death.

Today is a good day to die.......if you are good with the Lord

Good day to die

Over 9 years ago, I received a Kidney Transplant. After the transplant I become a Kidney Transplant Peer Mentor and a Certified Donor Advocate for the National Kidney Foundation and Gift-of-Life Michigan, giving presentations encouraging people to sign up to be Organ and Tissue donors.
Missmolly had a quote that talked about organ donation. I would hope that each of you would consider signing up to be a donor. There are about 123,000 people in the USA that are waiting for a transplant. There is no conditaton or age to stop you fron registering, let the medical team at the time of your passing determine if your organ can be transplanted.

Spartan1

Spartan1: "Over 9 years ago, I received a Kidney Transplant. After the transplant I become a Kidney Transplant Peer Mentor and a Certified Donor Advocate for the National Kidney Foundation and Gift-of-Life Michigan, giving presentations encouraging people to sign up to be Organ and Tissue donors.
Missmolly had a quote that talked about organ donation. I would hope that each of you would consider signing up to be a donor. There are about 123,000 people in the USA that are waiting for a transplant. There is no conditaton or age to stop you fron registering, let the medical team at the time of your passing determine if your organ can be transplanted.


Spartan1
"

Great suggestion.

Here's how life-changing such gifts can be.

I fully expect that when it's over, that's it - when life is extinguished, it's over. But regardless of what you believe about the end of life, you only get one go through at it. Might as well focus on what you'll do with the time you have, not worry about how you'll make your final bow.

I have no intentions to die any way at all - enjoy what you've got, try to make it meaningful, and help those who will come after you. Greet the end only when it's right in front of you, as the last thing to experience of many.

Nothing can kill me. I beat cancer. I’m too busy being a rock star. I know this, no fking bear, cougar, wolf or any such beast will ever be the cause of my demise. Not scared at all. I’m like jumpin jack flash. I will never have a bad day again.

BTW, like Spartan1, I'm also alive due to a donation. I'm the recipient of a stem cell or bone marrow donation from an unrelated donor. This is something you register for and do, if selected, while still alive and healthy. If you see a donor drive, please take the opportunity to register. The vast majority of donations are now done by IV rather than actually extracting bone marrow. So, it really isn't too bad (according to my donor).

Back to thoughts on dementia. It can be horrible but I don't see people trying to extend the life of people with dementia. Instead it can just take a while to die. Sometimes it is a long while. My grandmother went through a horrible time with Alzheimers. For my father, who passed way about a year and a half ago, there was only a few months between the time when he could still hold complex conversations and dying. Even during those months, he and my mother had many times when they felt love and companionship together and he never became angry or paranoid. So, it is a complex topic and different from case to case.

andym: "Back to thoughts on dementia. It can be horrible but I don't see people trying to extend the life of people with dementia. "

If you don't plan ahead and have good advocates you will have the medical system trying to extend your life. You'll be treated for pneumonia, given CPR, put on life support, treated for massive infections... It's the default. You should plan for a good death and hope it works out.

I am pleased that my husband, who rarely posts on this site in spite of reading every word that is posted (probably not true, but it sometimes seems so), posted his "take" on organ donation. He is a dedicated volunteer, both in mentoring other kidney transplant patients, and also in advocating for organ and tissue donations. I have learned a lot about the subject from him, and one of the first things that came to my mind when people started talking about "returning their bodies to the earth" was "what a waste!"

I, too, want my body returned to the earth once my soul has departed to be with my Lord. But first I want any part of my earthly body that can help a fellow human to be harvested, if indeed that is a possibility. Then I will be cremated and taken to my final resting place.

At my age, I do occasionally think about how I might die, but I do not dwell upon it. Every day is a gift, and I hope to open many, many more gifts before the time comes. But I suspect I will end up in a hospital or a nursing home someday, not experiencing my end out in the woods. It's just the most likely scenario. If that is the case, I would hope that I have loved ones around me saying goodbye. Perhaps singing to me. "Sing me to Heaven". They will know what songs to sing.

Sing Me To Heaven

LuvMyBell: "The time, place and method of our dying has already been determined.


Now, we just need to live our lives and wait. It'll come soon enough."

Determinism is a philosophy, not a universal truth.

arm2008: "

andym: "Back to thoughts on dementia. It can be horrible but I don't see people trying to extend the life of people with dementia. "

If you don't plan ahead and have good advocates you will have the medical system trying to extend your life. You'll be treated for pneumonia, given CPR, put on life support, treated for massive infections... It's the default. You should plan for a good death and hope it works out.
"

They kept my dad alive for weeks with breathing tubes and all sorts of treatments. He had a DNR but was visiting in California and they didn't recognize it. The hospital made about $500,000 from his insurance company by doing that.

At age 40 I was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder. They estimated I had 13 years to live, dementia included. That was up four years ago. I’m about to take my dog on a three mile walk, lots of pain involved but I’m still trucking. I’ve had time to think about dying, I’m an expert actually, I don’t want to die in the woods, I want to die in a meadow, with a small pond, birch forest nearby. And flowers, lots of flowers. I know the place, my wife knows the place. Right now it’s full of ticks and my dog hasn’t been treated for ticks yet. It also beautiful in the fall.

I am an organ donor.

When my father in law passed away I was fighting fires, my wife didn't even tell me to come to Duluth in his final days.
She finially phoned me and told me he will not last long, he was in Hospice.
I dropped everything and drove 4 hrs to Duluth. The Hospice people were great, they had a Baby Grand Piano in a visitor section. I started playing the piano and they wheeled my FIL in on his bed and I played for a couple hours, by ear and memory.

Amazing Grace
Shall We Gather at the River
Sitting at the feet of Jesus
Were some of the songs that I remember playing.
We left him around 8:00 pm and he died that night, peacefully.

He loved the BW and plied their waters many many times.

I have never given it much thought where I wanted to die, only that I do not want to die in a fire.

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I do agree that it is very important to have an advance directive explaining your wishes and who gets to make decisions. I’ve been lucky that my parents live in a very nice community that demands it and I had to do it myself as part of starting my transplant.

Cremate me, put me in a tree, some deciduous tree (red maple?), and plant me in the Q... Preferably on an island in Buckingham Lake. I want the wind to rustle my branches and be home to the birds and squirrels.

I'm not too worried about where it happens, just that it isn't horrific. We may not have much choice about that though!

Woods-Nope.

At work and creating one hell of an OSHA investigation=Hell Ya!!! I have it all planned out.. :-)

Probably not in the wilderness.. A friend of a friend did that and it took two years to find her. Meanwhile the family was in anguish.

mapsguy1955: "Cremate me, put me in a tree, some deciduous tree (red maple?), and plant me in the Q... Preferably on an island in Buckingham Lake. I want the wind to rustle my branches and be home to the birds and squirrels.


I'm not too worried about where it happens, just that it isn't horrific. We may not have much choice about that though!"

To be a tree
Suffices for thee.

And me, and me.

BlackSwanAdventures: "

LuvMyBell: "The time, place and method of our dying has already been determined.



Now, we just need to live our lives and wait. It'll come soon enough."

Determinism is a philosophy, not a universal truth."

Maybe. Maybe Not.

I have no desire to procreate after I am dead. Organ transplants are OK by me, but no sex organ transplants from me. Same gender or not.

awbrown: "I want to die in my sleep like my Grandpa did..................not kicking and screaming like the rest of the folks in his car."

LOL. That hit my funny bone.

Canoearoo: "I don't think so guys. My grandmother had a nice full life. At 85 still living on her own, able to get around just fine, she went to bed and fell asleep then she woke up in heaven. Completely painless death; strong till the end. I think living a full life for God, trying to stay in shape, getting out every day, hanging out with family and friends then one day going to bed then waking up in heaven sounds pretty good to me."

Yep, exactly this. Hopefully in the BW after hitting up the walleyes, a long campfire, and some northern lights. But that's already been ordained.