A Thought Experiment

My first thought when I heard the news of this was to hope that the Dear Leader of North Korea had not heard about it before it was declared a false alarm. If he had, he may have assumed that the Tremendous One would have come to the conclusion that NK had launched a nuclear strike against American territory. He would then have concluded that America would immediately retaliate. He would panic and launch everything he had against the USA as he would have assumed that Big Button Man was going to destroy Little Rocket Man.

If I only had 38 minutes to live, I would hope that I would be able to have that time with my son.   But events that result in death within 38 minutes do not generally lend themselves to pre-planning, do they?  If I was unable to see my family once more, I guess I would hope to at least be with other human beings,–co-workers, a store clerk, a stranger on the street– so we could hold one another’s hands as we face the big unknown.

I can’t even imagine how it must have felt during those interminable minutes.  Must have felt like an eternity.

I think I would have reflected on what I think is important.

I would email people I care about, and thank them for their presence in my life and tell them to be happy because they made me happy.  Tell them how thankful I feel to have been part of their lives.

I did something like that before I had major surgery.  I knew it would probably turn out OK.  But if not, then it’s no longer about me, is it?   When I told those things to the people who mattered most to me, then my mind was at peace and fear vanished. I made sure my life was in order, and reassured loved ones they would be OK.

When you are dead, it is no longer about you.  If you might die in 38 minutes, you can still use the time positively, and be at peace.

What would make me grieve is if I had children who would die then too.  I would try to distract and comfort them.

It’s easy for me to say.  Im not in that situation right now.

38 Minutes, Hawaii?…..get my SCUBA gear head for the beach. Water is deep. Watch the light show from the sea floor. Then hitch a ride on back of a big sea turtle, head for Tahiti. Write a book about how you survived, get rich and famous, marry a supermodel and have George Clooney play me in a hit movie. See, it’ll all be ok !