"Died doing what he loved"

[blingair]

I want to be stuffed in the sitting position, eyes open, mouth grinning a sly grin and a Alaskan Amber in my hand. Friends and family would sit on my lap and take pictures. Then I would be launched out of a cannon into a grave (or something like it). I'll leave just enough money for the keg.

 

[YourNameHere]

Funeral home laid out fan in front of TV ​

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/3741544

PITTSBURGH (AP) - James Henry Smith was a zealous Pittsburgh Steelers fan in life, and even death could not keep him from his favorite spot: in a recliner, in front of a TV showing his beloved team in action.


Smith, 55, of Pittsburgh, died of prostate cancer Thursday. Because his death wasn't unexpected, his family was able to plan for an unusual viewing Tuesday night.

The Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home erected a small stage in a viewing room, and arranged furniture on it much as it was in Smith's home on game day Sundays.

Smith's body was on the recliner, his feet crossed and a remote in his hand. He wore black and gold silk pajamas, slippers and a robe. A pack of cigarettes and a beer were at his side, while a high-definition TV played a continuous loop of Steelers highlights.

"I couldn't stop crying after looking at the Steeler blanket in his lap," said his sister, MaryAnn Nails, 58. "He loved football and nobody did (anything) until the game went off. It was just like he was at home."

Longtime friend Mary Jones called the viewing "a celebration." "I saw it and I couldn't even cry," she said. "People will see him the way he was." Smith's burial plans were more traditional - he'll be laid to rest in a casket.

 

[transpondersoff]

Funeral home laid out fan in front of TV ​

She said, "People will see him the way he was." Smith's burial plans were more traditional - he'll be laid to rest in a casket.

I saw a cartoon in a playboy once and it showed a guy in a recliner watching a porno with his pecker in one hand and a can of beer in the other. The caption said he looks so natural.

 

[avbug]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

I have absolutely no problem with dying in an airplane, so long as it's not my fault.

My sole fear isn't death, nor pain of death, but failure to do my job. So long as no soul can remark over my ashes that I screwed up, I have no fear of what might happen to me in the air. Let the chips, and the ashes, fall where they may.

Far better to end one's journey here between a set of wings or beneath a rotor, than lying for weeks wasting away in a hospital bed.

The pilots mantra for many decades, the silent prayer, has been "Lord, please don't let me screw up."

Nobody hopes to die in an airplane, myself included, but if that one day happens, I have zero heartburn with one who pronounces over me, "he died doing what he loved." My personal goal is not to die in an airplane, but instead to fly right until the very end. If one is blessed enough to be able to do that, then what more can one ask of life?

 

[YGBSM]

AND I used to love that McGee poem, High Flight.

It's Magee.

If the thought of dying while doing something you vaguely enjoy bothers you, it'd probably be more satisfying to get a job at Wal-mart and die of cancer or anal warts.

"He died after spending his life doing something he couldn't give a sh!t about". Much better.

 

[mar]

Just one more thing.

My personal goal is not to die in an airplane, but instead to fly right until the very end. If one is blessed enough to be able to do that, then what more can one ask of life?

To have spent every last cent so that nothing is left over. That would be a perfect death.



But still, I gotta agree, I cringe every time I hear someone say, He died doing what he loved.

I mean unless he's doin' a lover, then, well, nevermind...

 

[UnAnswerd]

Far better to end one's journey here between a set of wings or beneath a rotor, than lying for weeks wasting away in a hospital bed.

I've often heard people say such things as "when I die, I don't want to be going down in an airplane". I say, why not??? I'd rather die in a painless instant than rot away in a nursing home, or worse. The only thing about dying in an airplane, though, is the terrible suspence or "waiting" as the ground rushes up. Still, it beats the hell out of many other ways to die.

 

[FlyChicaga]

Now, if I died of a freak aneurism or something, in between a couple of naked hot chicks on the beach while drinking rum, Coronas and various other cocktails, THEN people could say, "he died doing what he loved," and I might decide not to come back and haunt them.

I'm with you on that one! You beat me to it.

 

[Flightjock30]

Just imagine being in a dive or spin knowing that its the "end". Im sure the TWA 800 and Pan AM Lockerbie incidents, etc were VERY VERY frightening for the crews as they plunged to earth. I could not imagine to even think of it...hopefully we die of a sudden stroke or in our sleep. The most painless and peaceful way to go.

 

[Big Duke Six]

What are the odds?

I was just talking to a neighbor about this very subject today. He had just read about a guy here who was killed while paragliding. My neighbor said, "That's awesome, he died doing what he loved".

I said, "Yeah, except for the last part, I'm sure he loved it."

I have to say, I've never liked that phrase either.

In fact, I'd rather not die while flying, painless though it may be. The reason is that when my family sees an airplane after I die, I don't want them to think of me and remember that I died in an airplane. I want them to look at it, see its beauty, and remember that that is what I loved to do. Fly beautiful machines. I don't want there to be any painful memories forever associated with airplanes in anyone's mind after I die.