Forget immortality
Your recent cover story ("Can We Live Forever?" May 5) about living
forever reminds me of Yossarian's credo from "Catch 22" — "Live
forever or die in the attempt." Aging starlets would tout pills, injections
and moonbeam drinks on infomercials. Discount cryogenic tanks — Walt
Disney's signature series — sold on the net for those not quite dead.
Eternal life would be a circular conveyor belt of the same friends, jokes and
sour relatives squawking at Thanksgiving, "…. pass the cranberry
sauce! Do I have to remind you every 10,000 years?" Lemmings heading toward
the cliff using walkers and wheelchairs, but include me out. I want a theme
burial, Hawaiian interlude. Open casket wearing a sea island shirt surrounded
by cans of Pineapple slices. Tiki torches in the viewing room and hula girls
kicking it with melodic luau music and reassuring waves crashing
in the background. Throw in some velvet paintings of palm trees and hope for
Yossairan's blessing.
Gary Wilson
Des Moines
Are we heading toward another civil war?
I don't know about you, but these last two years I have noticed another Civil War coming out of the woodwork. Not just in the South, mind you, but all over the country. We now have more than 1,000 hate groups waving their arms in the air. This would never have happened with George W. in the White House. Bush junior was the worst president we have had in my lifetime, but you don't have hate groups starting another civil war when a lily-white, rich Texan is riding into the sunset starting another war with the usual smirk on his face.
John Hicks
Des Moines
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