So I just had a friend die; one of the first to die of an "old age" related condition: heart attack. He was 62, a year older than me. I've had other friends die, but they died early: teenager in a head on collision with a drunk driver, college student in an accident on a foggy road, middle age (around 46) of lymphoma (family history), middle age (53, same age as me at the time) colon cancer. Or my father for that matter, who died at 50 from bladder cancer that spread to his liver (smoker: high rate of bladder cancer with smokers).

When I turned 60, I told people it's like crossing a line. If you die before that, it's "They died young, they were only " fill in the blank. But once you hit 60, you die and it's "Well, after all they were".

Anyway, I was looking at their Facebook page and saw the asinine "At least he's in a better place" line. I didn't comment on it, but that really pisses me off. I don't believe my friend was religious in any way. I don't think rotting in a pine box or having your cadaver burnt to a crisp is better than being alive with your friends and loved ones. Paraphrasing, I saw someone answer the question "Aren't you afraid of death?" with the line "Are you afraid of the year 1769? Because your existence after death will be the same as your existence was in the year 1769."

Just some thoughts running through my head.