[OT] My first Halloween

Magic Mood Jeep wrote:

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message

You have to wonder how many accident victims get left lying in the road
on Halloween because people think the blobs of brain are made of dough.

Not funny, when you read this story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,3558556.story

Neighbors thought dead man's body was part of Halloween display
The body of Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed, 75, an apparent suicide, sat decomposing
on his Marina del Rey balcony for days because neighbors thought the
lifeless figure was a dummy and didn't call police.

Oh, that's really gross. The only "comfort" I can take from it is that
at least he was already dead, and not *dying*. It's not like someone
was allowed to lie there and die when they could've been saved, because
people thought it was part of a joke.

Joyce

--
"Sentimentality" -- that's what we call the sentiment we don't share.

-- Graham Greene

wrote:
Magic Mood Jeep wrote:

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message

You have to wonder how many accident victims get left lying in the road
on Halloween because people think the blobs of brain are made of dough.

Not funny, when you read this story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,3558556.story

Neighbors thought dead man's body was part of Halloween display
The body of Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed, 75, an apparent suicide, sat decomposing
on his Marina del Rey balcony for days because neighbors thought the
lifeless figure was a dummy and didn't call police.

Oh, that's really gross. The only "comfort" I can take from it is that
at least he was already dead, and not *dying*. It's not like someone
was allowed to lie there and die when they could've been saved, because
people thought it was part of a joke.

There are periodic reports of people who are found months or years after
they died - generally, they're inside, though. So it's not that unusual
for neighbours to assume everything's OK with someone who's been dead
for a long time.

Some people think that people dying alone and not being found is
becoming more and more common with smaller and more scattered families,
and basic payments like mortgages or rent coming directly out of bank
accounts. It's more of a problem with natural but sudden death, than
suicide, I think, since suicides can plan to be found. If the person is
still working, the employer might send someone over, but friends and
acquaintances tend to assume they just haven't heard from someone in a
while, and not to take action.

I'm always suprised that the smell isn't noticed sooner, but to judge by
news reports, the body is usually discovered when the money finally runs
out and the business to whom the money is owed starts legal action.

--
Cheryl

Cheryl wrote:

There are periodic reports of people who are found months or years after
they died - generally, they're inside, though. So it's not that unusual
for neighbours to assume everything's OK with someone who's been dead
for a long time.

Some people think that people dying alone and not being found is
becoming more and more common with smaller and more scattered families,
and basic payments like mortgages or rent coming directly out of bank
accounts. It's more of a problem with natural but sudden death, than
suicide, I think, since suicides can plan to be found. If the person is
still working, the employer might send someone over, but friends and
acquaintances tend to assume they just haven't heard from someone in a
while, and not to take action.

That's why I try to stay in much closer touch with my friends, or at
least a few of them. I do have a some friends who, if they didn't hear
from me for a week, would start worrying about me. Of course, a week
is a long time to lie dying, or in a "fallen and can't get up" situation.

Modern culture fosters much more superficial relationships than I think
people had in earlier centuries because they *had to*. I do what I can
to fight that superficiality in my own relationships.

I'm always suprised that the smell isn't noticed sooner, but to judge by
news reports, the body is usually discovered when the money finally runs
out and the business to whom the money is owed starts legal action.

There's an old Unix fortune that says, "If you think nobody cares whether
you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments."

Joyce

--
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he
grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Magic Mood Jeep wrote:

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in
message You have to wonder how many accident victims get left lying in
the road
on Halloween because people think the blobs of brain are made of
dough.

Not funny, when you read this story:


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,3558556.story

Neighbors thought dead man's body was part of Halloween display
The body of Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed, 75, an apparent suicide, sat
decomposing on his Marina del Rey balcony for days because neighbors
thought the lifeless figure was a dummy and didn't call police. Oh,
that's really gross. The only "comfort" I can take from it is that
at least he was already dead, and not *dying*. It's not like someone
was allowed to lie there and die when they could've been saved, because
people thought it was part of a joke.

There are periodic reports of people who are found months or years after
they died - generally, they're inside, though. So it's not that unusual
for neighbours to assume everything's OK with someone who's been dead for
a long time.

Some people think that people dying alone and not being found is becoming
more and more common with smaller and more scattered families, and basic
payments like mortgages or rent coming directly out of bank accounts. It's
more of a problem with natural but sudden death, than suicide, I think,
since suicides can plan to be found. If the person is still working, the
employer might send someone over, but friends and acquaintances tend to
assume they just haven't heard from someone in a while, and not to take
action.

I'm always suprised that the smell isn't noticed sooner, but to judge by
news reports, the body is usually discovered when the money finally runs
out and the business to whom the money is owed starts legal action.

--
Cheryl

I've worried about that sometimes. It would be horrible to find somebody -
especially a loved one - who had been dead for a long time. My kids and I
had a habit of calling or emailing occasionally, and we get together for
birthdays and some holidays, but quite a bit of time could go by if I should
suddenly drop dead. Now I have indoor only cats, it's even more of a
concern. Some time ago, I finally made an arrangement with my kids. I
email them every evening, just to check in, and let them know if I'm going
anywhere in the next couple of days. The idea is that, if they don't hear
from me by the next morning, they email me. If they don't get a response
within a few hours, they call. If they can't get hold of me either one of
them comes here or they call my next door neighbors, who have a key (because
they feed my cats when I go away.

Joy

Joy wrote:

I've worried about that sometimes. It would be horrible to find
somebody -
especially a loved one - who had been dead for a long time. My kids and I
had a habit of calling or emailing occasionally, and we get together for
birthdays and some holidays, but quite a bit of time could go by if I should
suddenly drop dead. Now I have indoor only cats, it's even more of a
concern. Some time ago, I finally made an arrangement with my kids. I
email them every evening, just to check in, and let them know if I'm going
anywhere in the next couple of days. The idea is that, if they don't hear
from me by the next morning, they email me. If they don't get a response
within a few hours, they call. If they can't get hold of me either one of
them comes here or they call my next door neighbors, who have a key (because
they feed my cats when I go away.

Joy

I used to worry a bit too, because I have good friends, but with
business we sometimes don't see each other for a while, and since a lot
of my friends don't know each other, they wouldn't compare notes. That
is, they wouldn't realize that I wasn't really busy with some other
group, because they wouldn't compare notes.

My mother moved to my city a bit over a year ago, and lives alone, which
works out for both of us since we both have our independence. She
refuses point-blank to have one of those alarms for emergencies, but she
asked me to call every day, so I do (well, except for the days I drop in
for a visit). So I guess she'd realize I was missing within a day or so,
as long as she didn't put the lack of a call down to absent-mindedness.
I've learned to put the lack of an answer down to (1) She's at the
laundry or grocery or (2) She's left the phone off the hook. For (1), I
just call again in an hour. (2) nearly got me going over there once, but
fortunately she got the phone back on the hook before I did.

--
Cheryl