Shelf Life

Shelf Life: the length of time for which an item remains usable, fit for consumption, or saleable.  

On Books: Prior to the internet, books were my go-to source for wisdom, knowledge, inspiration, validation, instruction, entertainment  and life story.  With no television to watch during childhood, due to my father's firm belief in the value of reading, and limited cultural exposure due to the faith based private education I received, books along with the outdated magazines my father brought home from his waiting room were my door to more; and I read whatever I could lay my hands on.  Hundreds of thousands of books later, with a world of information now readily available at my fingertips, I continue to value and enjoy the non-electronic paper presence of books.  I order them, read them, refer to them, open them for points to ponder and rest them on the shelves or stacks in every room of my home.  

On Prompts: The first answer I'd provide, if asked the question posed by Yahweh to the Moses in front of the Burning Bush about what he held in his hand, would be "Books"; they're what I hold in my hand.  Since their relevance or shelf life, however, can be difficult to determine, I've decided to center my postings here around the excerpts, prompts and insights I've received through books as a matter of levity and gravity, and let them join the chips and grit that fall where they may, to zing and bounce around with the best and worst of the internet.  

On Links:  In mid July, I followed a link at Instapundit to the book: Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die by David Kessler, ordered a copy and read it. What initially caught my eye was Glenn's introductory  pronouncement of "HMM" and his one line addition after the link of  "This happened with my dad at the end"; as that is also what unexpectedly happened with my otherwise skeptical mom at the end, with a roomful of living family members as witnesses.  The lengthier "hmmmmm"  that came up for me has lessened some since reading of similar accounts from others, collected by an author who focuses on the hope these experiences provide for the dying, without tending to any particular religious beliefs about death or the afterlife. 

On Impact and Unseen Companions: As a result of Glenn's link, I've since talked about the book and shared stories from it with several others without Glenn or the author having any awareness of the impact their words have had on me and those whose lives touch mine.  Such is the power of story and the means to convey it through voice, printed page and the internet.  

"'The saying goes, "We come into this world alone, and we leave alone.'  We've been brought up to believe that dying is a lonely, solitary event...
What if the long road that you thought you'll eventually have to walk alone has unseen companions?  What if who and what you see before you die changes everything? "  pg155