If I Had 24 Hours to Live
When Bernie Mac died from pneumonia last week, I considered my own mortality because I've had pneumonia for the last two months, and it's not getting any better despite good treatment. The icing on the cake was the death of Isaac Hayes, who died while using a treadmill. It's ironic that he died while trying to stay fit and healthy.
The deaths in the news, along with my own dodgy health, spawned the question, "What would I do if I only had twenty-four hours to live?" I began to think of all the things I haven't done, like visit Europe or vacation in Hawaii. I thought about my few remaining family members in upstate New York and how I haven't visited them since I was a teenager.
Then, I remembered a dream I had a few years ago when I was in flight school. I dreamt that I was flying a small Cessna along with my instructor, and the engine gave out. We went into an uncontrollable vertical dive and raced towards the ground. About half way to the ground I remembered that the cockpit's black box would record anything that was said in the cockpit, whether we were keyed up or not.
As I was watching the ground race up toward the window, I felt intense mourning for a moment, and then peace as I said, "I love my babies," out loud, thinking only about my two young daughters. The plane crashed and I woke up crying, feeling an intense urge to wake my girls up and give them both hugs.
Remembering the intensity of that dream made me understand how I would truly feel in those last twenty-four hours. With that knowledge came my final small list of things to do.
Hours 1-22: I would spend this time with my husband and daughters. I'd let my daughters know just how much I love them and how proud I am of them. I'd shower them with hugs and kisses and tell them goodbye.
Hour 23: If I could tear myself away from my kids in the 23rd hour, I would go skydiving. It's something I've always wanted to do but not while my children were still dependant on me.
Hour 24: I would try LSD to see what all the hubbub is about. I've never tried drugs, but I've always wondered what it would be like to experience the hallucinations of an LSD trip.
How would you spend your remaining hours?
Published by Alicia White
Alicia is a former air traffic controller who lived in Japan for several years. She's currently a freelance writer in California, and a full-time student majoring in digital media/graphic design. View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentThanks so much for your comments everyone. Thanks too for playing along and saying what you would do in the same situation - so interesting! Shamontiel, I'm just now seeing your comment. I'm going to check the blog entry now! (P.S. it would be a tandem thing. Half-hour to learn, half-hour to jump lol)
All right, I got creative and decided to plan out my whole day. If you want to read it from beginning to end, click here: http://www.shamontiel.com/shamontiels-blog.html and look at December 15th's entry. Either way, this was an interesting topic.
All right, I got creative and decided to plan out my whole day. If you want to read it from beginning to end, click here: http://www.shamontiel.com/shamontiels-blog.html and look at December 15th's entry. Either way, this was an interesting topic.
The Isaac Hayes thing was CRAZY to me too, especially the irony of it. I was stunned. It was bittersweet to see that movie with Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes in it. Forgot the name. That hour of sky diving...doesn't it take longer than that to learn? Anyway, this was an interesting piece. In my last 24 hours, I'd write the chapter to my third book and at the end, send an email to everyone I know who are good writers and ask them to finish it. I'd be so content to know it turned out well. I'd cuddle up in bed with my boyfriend for a couple hours and zone out. Then I'd get up, gather everybody over to my apartment, and I'd probably cook up some dead animal so they remember that even though I'm a vegetarian, I can STILL cook. Wait, then that's mean-spirited to the animal, like cooking the animal 'cause I got to die. Scratch that. I'd make them all eat Szechuan tofu and fried rice with me and we'd have fondue chocolate covered strawberries and watch "Charlie Brown" movies.
Very thought provoking
I was thinking about this the other day in a different context. That I had in a sense taken up risky sports already when I was younger. I trained 100 miles a week to get good at distance running, and got about as good as I could get, winning races and such. But I was never satisfied with the results, even when I won. Because I was judging myself in the context of how it impressed others. And that is a never-ending battle.
Not that we should do things for selfish reasons, or do things just for the sake of doing them, but do things for the pure motivation that comes with doing them well. And let others into your world to help you along the way. Call it pride in humility.
really good article,i would kiss my girl and tell her she meant the world to me and then jump off a big!!!!!!!!! mountain and scream...im coming home!
With only 24 hours to live, I would take up an extreme sport. I figure the risks involved would be easier to deal with when you know you have only hours to enjoy anything.
A few things, Coffee, Rioja, A fine Sussex ale, some fresh fish - Mackeral probably, a steak, gosh it would be a binge...
I'm sorry to hear that you are battling with pneumonia. This is a really interesting article. I know that if I had 24 hours to live, I'd want to be back home in the UK with my dad and brothers and my husband with me, tell them I love them and so much more. I would have so much to do! 24 hours just wouldn't be enough.
Sophie