For many of us, the thought of death is overwhelming; the thought that we will no longer be on Earth. Few of us actually know what is ahead, past the darkness of the unknown. Many of us Christians believe in Heaven, but we still do not know what dying is like. Sometimes, this “unknown” is painful to think about. I, though, have and antidote-like thought; a thought about my grandfather, who acted bravely in the face of death.

He had lived a good life: working hard, saving his money, marrying the love of his life, and being happy. He lived without the things we take for granted today. Things such as cell phones, computers or internet, game systems, and other luxuries. His family had gone through the Great Depression, which apparently was not a fun time, for he worked and saved his money, spending it cautiously.

My grandfather had been having some problems with his body in his old age. He had been having problems with his heart for the twenty years before his death, but had more recently started to have lung problems. His health started to deteriorate, making for more visits to the hospital. None the less, he continued to preach life lessons to my sister and I about what not to do, like smoking, using himself as an example of what would happen. I never saw him falter or become weak in spirit, even as he laid in his hospital bed in one of his visits.

The day came when his body finally had had enough. He fell onto the floor. The paramedics arrived, ready to do everything they could to save my grandfather, but he said no. He refused to go to the hospital with them. He said that he did not want to be hooked up to a bunch of machines to live. He did not want to rely on machinery to live a restricted life. He was ready to die. The paramedics, at that point, had no choice but to do what they could without a trip to the hospital, but it was no enough. My grandfather died on January 9th, 2009.

Whenever I think about death and get those familiar pains, I always think about my grandfather and how strong he was to be ready to die. It always comforts me, making me think that when my day comes, maybe I will be ready too.

In Loving Memory of R.L.S.

I say give the whole United States a proverbial “do-over” pay off everyone’s mortgages ,bank loans, fines, and college tuition. It would be easy to do, just tax every corporate CEO, oil tycoon, actors, sports agent and political lobbyist and professional athlete that makes more then 2 million dollars a year by one third of what they make for one time. Also while were at it lets give every troop serving in Iraq past & present a paid vacation to a tropical island or somewhere where prostitution is legal, we would actually be saving some money.

Yes indeed the whole rest of the country should get bailed out and start all over with a bit of spending money to begin with. It would be just like a new game of monopoly. No one will owe anyone a damn thing and a lot of people will learn to do better with this new beginning. Well maybe not Britney Spears she is a frickin moron.

Certain people are afraid to make decisions. Walter Kaufman has termed it as decidophobia. Such people are unable to attain great heights in their career or in their life. We should have the courage and presence of mind to make the right decisions at the right time. It will help us to be a successful person in life. It is important to make the decision at the right moment. Decisions made at the wrong moment will not be successful.

We should be aware of certain things while making a decision. Good background knowledge is essential when we make a decision about something. Decisions made on half-baked information will fail.

During certain unavoidable circumstances, we will not be able to make a decision at once. It is better to wait for sometime so that we get a clear idea of the circumstances. Circumstances may change in our favor as time passes. Good decision makers do not act instantly. They wait for the right time to make the right decision. They give more importance to their intellect rather than their emotions.

There are people who avoid taking decisions. They float along the waves of life with an attitude of “what will be, will be”. Life will not be under their control. Life will take them to unknown difficult shores even without their knowledge. It is better to be a decision maker than a person who avoids responsibilities.

If we have a set of guiding principles in our life, it will make our decision making an easy task. Our principles of ethics and morality will act as a catalyst in our decision-making. .If we have a clear picture of our goal, it will help us in our decision-making. .We should have a clear idea of our position in the next five or ten years. It will encourage us to make the right decisions to achieve our long term and short-term goals.

We should not only wander in the valley of thought. After we have made decisions, it is the time to put our thoughts into action. We will know whether our decisions are correct or wrong when we act upon our decisions.