[Magdalen] RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

[ME Michaud]

I have attended several deaths, actually been at the bedside, and none
of them was pretty or peaceful. Not one of these people left us quietly
while someone was out of the room. People writhe, they moan, cry out
sometimes. They fight the morphine given to calm them and ease
their distress. They gasp and struggle to breathe.

Some of us will be fortunate enough to clutch our head or chest and
think "wha ?" A very few of us will wonder why that semi is so close
to the guardrail. A very very few, like Marcia Deihl, will wonder why
they're
suddenly lying atop a filthy snowbank that's turning red.

The telling of stories of dying is as full of code as real estate ads, where
cozy means tiny and rustic means decrepit.

We all, every one of us, will face this. It helps you prepare if you can
peel away some of the romance. But YMMV.
-M