REFLECTIONS FROM THE REARVIEW
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Worth Repeating
  • My Book
  • FAQ

North of Ground Level

8/3/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Undertakers must really wonder. And those who write epitaphs on grave stones must also receive some strange commentary. There are no doubt, some odd ways to die. We, the living, wonder about it. It makes us feel positively lucky to be north of ground level. 

I think of this periodically when I hear of someone dying under very strange circumstances. I recall one near the juncture of the 427 and QEW, close by where I was working. Around lunch time the cry of sirens and ambulances and firetrucks rose up from all directions. What had happened would make you shake your head. A guy had rescheduled his regular routine, apparently to make a special appointment with the Grim Reaper. He usually headed to work during regular rush hour, but this day he had been late in order to drive his daughter to university. As he passed by that juncture at around noon, a truck flying by at speed, lost a piece of sheet metal about the size of a licence plate. Travelling through the air like a shot from a gun, it passed through the windshield and straight through this guy’s head. He didn’t even see it coming. The only reason he died - he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now you know why I am scratching my head about what you might put on some head stones. “Here lies one unlucky son-of-a-bitch” must pass through the engraver’s head sometimes. 

As these things go, there are unlucky ways to die. History is full of them, and we just cannot predict. You never know when you your own special little appointment will come, except that it is as sure as taxes and it will come to us all someday. So it might be a good thing today, to count yourself lucky to be a commentator and not the one commented on. 

I ran across a census of deaths in Perth County, in 1857. It was informative, because the ways people die have changed. You only have to pass by an old graveyard and see the dates on head stones in a row from large to small, to know that an entire family died when influenza passed through an area. Or, the baby deaths from unknown causes, or simply the many women from times past who died in childbirth before more sophisticated medicine made this less likely. 

Causes of death in Perth County, could be categorized. Some the same as today, and some unfamiliar. Living on a farm in the past would greatly increase your chance of death, in case anyone thought rural life was healthy. You were in close contact with wild horses and heavy machinery on a regular basis. Rural life at that time also meant you heated your home with fire, so chances of death from a fire were fairly high. Since wood was also needed for making those fires, felling trees, logging and the moving of logs, another big culprit. You also had to have a gun to hunt, and to defend your property. Check that box. Guns were as dangerous then as they are now. Then there was trains. Being on them or around them, accounted for many accidents. Then there were the usual suspects, drunkenness, stupidity, and plain old fashioned murder also made the list. 

One man’s cause of death, was by tar and feathering. I would speculate that if you died at the hands of an angry mob, chances are you preceded that with something truly stupid and dishonest on a large scale and without fear of reprisal. Many deaths are simply that, death from consequences most normal people could predict. 

I heard of a man in Saskatchewan whose wife claimed he slept with a loaded pistol under the pillow. Apparently he had been threatened with his life and took it seriously. Judging that most people in rural Saskatchewan are fairly chill, I would speculate that the death threat was intended to avenge the chastity of someone’s wife or daughter, and so maybe he was taking a sensible precaution. I wonder if his wife ever questioned what he did while out and about, since sleeping with a loaded pistol under your pillow might be considered unconventional. People who live on the edge - when their time comes, they may have already been courting death for a long time. 

Death by wounded honour is another strange one that happened here and there in upper Canada. The law tended to stand back in such cases because it was then common for gentlemen of good family to address assaults to honour with pistols at dawn, instead of going the long route through the courts. It harkens back to the trial by ordeal established in the middle ages, situations where it was believed that God would determine the just victor in a dispute. This meant that whoever survived the duel, generally walked free, even if they were frowned upon in polite society. There are many cases where the win was accomplished by less than honourable means, like firing your pistol before the allotted count had been completed by the second, the person monitoring the fairness of the duel. And yet few cases were later prosecuted in court.  

Brushes with death can change your life. A man we knew in Saskatchewan became a Pentecostal preacher, after his arm was violently torn off at the shoulder by a threshing machine. Far from medical help, it was considered a miracle of God that they managed to stop the flow of blood, especially because there was no stump upon which to apply a tourniquet. When he stood up at the pulpit people tended to listen to the one-armed prophet who had cheated the grim reaper. 

If you have ever sat in on a court proceeding, you can see the strange tangle of events that can lead to an unplanned early departure from this earth, whether by misadventure, accident, or something like a robbery gone wrong. What is even more puzzling is when our early departure is arranged by somebody on purpose - like those old widows throughout history with the Strychnine bottle on the shelf, in case they are tired of present husband or just want an early inheritance. History is riddled with those who have wed one husband after another without drawing public suspicion. After all, everyone pities a widow, even the one with a dozen kids from six husbands whose estates she has gathered up along the way. Insurance companies - they must get a lot of enquiries over the timing of large insurance policy arrangements. 

Death is never very fair. Early or late, it always seems too soon. The Grim Reaper just seems to be cooking up new and fascinating ways to depart this earthly vale, such that the phenomenon spurred the creation of a show called “1000 Ways to Die”, (in case you were sleeping too soundly at night). Go down to Mexico some time when they are celebrating the Day of the Dead. No avoidance of the topic, they are handing out skull candy and grinning right along with all the skeletons. Even Hallowe’en here, look at the number of people who put mock graveyards in their front lawns, complete with witty inscriptions that will make you laugh. 

We seem endlessly able to be fascinated by death, as long as the subject involves someone else. Perhaps the discussion of it makes us feel a bit more alive today. Let’s just say it is a good thing to be north of ground level. People speculate on whether it is better to die with your boots on, or in bed at a ripe old age, but we will never know until our own day arrives and it is likely better that way. Lucky or unlucky we are all in the same boat - our chance for human mortality remains at 100%.

Still, I wonder about those who must scratch their heads, wake up on the other side and say, “Oh CRAP, I’m dead! I should have had more fun while I still could!”
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    UNCOMMON
    ​THOUGHTS

    ...about common things. 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Accidental Story
    Activist
    A Display Of His Splendour
    Adjusting The Recipe
    Ad Man
    A Flannery O'Connor Moment
    After The Tiger
    A High Christology
    A Little Bit Redneck
    All About Widgets
    Allah Wallahi
    All I Got
    Al Low Vs The Man
    All Roads
    All Saints
    Almost
    A Long List Of Thank Yous
    Amazing Grace
    A Month Of Sundays
    And A Little Child Shall Lead Them
    And Make It Beautiful
    An Offer You Can’t Refuse
    An Officer And A Gentleman
    Antique
    A Pile Of Wood And A Plan
    Are We There Yet?
    Artifact
    As Simple As Sunshine
    A Tale Of Two Crosses
    At Hand
    Attending To Beauty
    At War
    Baby Boom
    Bad-Ass Outlaw
    Bad Faith
    Badlands
    Bad Math
    Baked Boiled Or Fried?
    Balcony Lady
    Barcode
    Beautiful By Design
    Beauty For Ashes
    Beauty On Purpose
    Being Different
    Being Human
    Belial
    Beneficence
    Best For Last
    Better Mousetrap
    Betty Toop
    Beware Of God
    Beware Of Men Who Cry
    Big Buts Of The Bible
    Bit Part
    Blessed Are The Pew Warmers
    Bound For Beauty
    Brazier
    British Invasion
    Bronte Oak
    Bucket List
    But If Not
    But Is It Sandable
    But Is It True?
    Buyer Beware
    Call To Prayer
    Camp Of The Unknown God
    Cant
    Carlton The Delivery Man
    Car Wash
    Chaos
    Cherry Picking
    Cherry Top
    Civil Disobedience
    Class Monitors And Safety Patrols
    Click Bait
    Clothing Optional
    Cloud Of Witnesses
    Colour Blind
    Coming To My Senses
    Contra Mundum
    Couldn't Not
    Counting The Cost
    Covid Cut
    Crazy
    Creed
    Crooked Made Straight
    Crucified Man
    Curated
    Curse Of Adam
    Damascus Road
    Dangerous
    Dangerous Chemicals Of My Youth
    Data Overload
    Day Of The Dead
    Deliver Us From Evil
    Deposit Of Faith
    Dieu Et Mon Droit
    Different Drum
    Distressed
    Dog House
    Doing Church
    Doing The Lord's Work
    Doing The Math
    Do It Yourself
    Dominion
    Dominus Vobiscum
    Do-Over
    Do Something!
    Dreaming And Doing
    Edifice
    Egging Armour Hill
    English Leather
    Ensign
    Even As I Am Known
    Even Me
    Even Stranger Things
    Exiles
    Experience Wanted
    Faithful Servant
    Fallow Season
    Family Bible
    Family Business
    Feeling It
    Fellowship Of The Brush
    Field Of Faith
    First World Chair
    Fit As You Go
    Five Minutes
    Fixing The Machine
    Flawed People
    Flock Of Angels
    Follow The Money
    For A Season
    For A Time Such As This
    Fortissimo!
    Forward
    French Horn
    From A Distance
    Frozen Man
    Funny Words
    Gateway
    Genetic Lottery
    Gifting
    God Calling...
    God Save The Queen
    Going In!
    Gone But Not Forgotten
    Gone Fishing
    Good Bones
    Good God Almighty
    Good Government
    Good Luck Skippy
    Gott Mit Uns
    Greatest Is Love
    Great Reset
    Grocery - A Short Story
    Gross Anatomy
    Grunt
    Haka!
    Hammer And Tong
    Hammer Time
    Hands And Eyes
    Hands On
    Happy Rooster
    Hardwired
    Hearing Voices
    Heavy LIfting
    Hello My Juan
    Helping God Show Off
    Hidden In The Secret Place
    Hid In My Heart
    High Dudgeon
    History Bites
    Hockey Tape And Rubber Bands
    Hodge Podge
    Holy Disorder
    Holy Father
    Home Economics
    Hymn Stories
    I AM
    I Cannot Help You
    I Could Be Wrong
    I Dare You
    Idiots
    If You Build It
    If You Get There Before I Do
    If You Go I'll Go
    Im Khalil
    Impossibly Cute
    In A Strange Land
    Incarnation
    In Code
    Incomplete
    Individual
    Influencer
    In My Own Time
    Inner FIfteen Year Old
    In Praise Of Culture
    In Praise Of The Middle
    In The Details
    In The Spirit
    In The Usual Manner
    Invader
    It's All A Stage
    I Will Remember
    Jackass
    Je Me Souviens
    John Henry
    Judge Not
    Jurisprudence
    Just A Few Words
    Just Have Faith
    Justice
    Just In Our Own Time
    Just Like God
    Keep Calm And...
    Keeper
    Keeping House
    Keeping On Keeping On
    KJV
    Knock Yourself Out
    Kumbaya
    Kybo
    Lamentations
    Lawn Nazi
    Lemonade
    Less Is More
    Lessons In Empathy
    Let Me Count The Ways
    Let's Go RIde A BIke
    Licking The Spoon
    Like A Flint
    Linked In
    Little Boxes
    Liturgy
    Lo And Behold
    Logos
    LOL
    Looking Back On The Forward Looking
    Looking For Some Real Good News
    Lord Jesus It’s A FIRE
    Lorem Ipsum Dolor
    Lost And Found
    Lost In Translation
    Luck Of The Stable
    Made To Dance
    Madonna
    Magical
    Make A Baby Laugh
    Make It Nice
    Maker
    Maker’s Mark
    Manifest
    Manwich
    Ma-pitom
    Marbles In Spring
    Measure Of A Man
    Meat Power
    Memory Box
    Men In Loincloths
    Men's Barber Shop
    Messiah
    Middle Ground
    Middleman
    Mistakes All In
    Montreal Spice
    More
    Morse Code
    Mosh Pit
    Moving Parts
    Mr. Good Enough
    Mr. Resolve
    My Neighbour
    Mystery Of The Cheshire Cat
    Myth Of Sisyphus
    My Wife The Movie Star
    Name Calling
    Natural
    Needed Time
    Neighbour
    New Day
    New Wine
    Next To Godliness
    Next Year Country
    No Fancy Diagram Needed
    No King But Caesar
    None Deserving
    North Of Ground Level
    Nothing Particularly Important
    Nothing Personal
    Not Waiting For Godot
    No Wonder
    Oak
    Obsessive
    Offended
    Oh Jerusalem
    Old Growth
    Old White Men
    On Adult Admission
    One Coffee At A Time
    One Smart Farmer
    One Thing
    On Richard Rohr
    On The Lam
    On Writing Clearly
    Ordinary Time
    Orwell For Our Times
    Out Of Egypt
    Over And Again
    Paint Over That
    Paper Boy
    Particularity
    Particularity Of Place
    Particulate Matter
    Part Of The Tradition
    Pater Noster
    Patina
    Pea Game
    Pelagian
    Perfect
    Perfect Crime
    Perfect Ride
    Philosemite
    Pilate's Dilemma
    Pinky Swear
    Place At The Table
    Playing Favourites
    Pop-a-corn!
    Potato War
    Preaching Parrot
    Predators
    Prepper
    Prince
    Print Shop
    Prisoner
    Promises Promises
    Proof Text
    Psalm 1
    Psalm 19
    Psalter
    Put Away The Books
    Putting Up The Lights
    Rainbow
    Recognition
    Red Haired Step Child
    Reduce Reuse Recycle
    Resin
    Restoration
    Resurrection
    Retro
    Rosemary And The Drug Dealers
    Sad Face
    Sandwich
    Say My Name
    Scars
    Scrooge's Bedsheets
    Second Naiveté
    Seeing Red
    Seven Sixty-Five
    Shouting From The Areopagus
    Shrove Tuesday
    Silent Witness
    Slippery Slope
    Small-c
    Small Graces
    Sock Monkeys
    Someone To Watch Over Me
    Song For The Lowly
    Sore Afraid
    Special Language Store
    Squat
    Squeeze Gently
    Starting With What Is True
    Status Quo
    Still True
    Street Food
    String Too Short To Be Saved
    Strongman
    Sufficient To The Day
    Superstar
    Take A Punch
    Takedown
    Talking Head
    Talking Your Parents Down From The Ledge
    Telling The Story
    Thanksgiving
    The Bliss Of Ignorance
    The Church Invisible
    The Crossing King
    The Evil Day
    The General
    The Great Mystery
    The Harrowing Of Hell
    The Joys Of Hash
    The Man Who Was Always Right
    The Other Place
    The Place Beyond Knowing
    The Quickening
    The REAL Jesus
    The Reason For The Season
    Therefore Choose Life
    The Rules
    The Secret History
    The Stand That Wouldn't Stand
    The Table-ness Of A Table
    The Way
    This Is My Body
    This Is The PLACE
    Though One Be Raised From The Dead
    Thoughts On Sixty
    Three Jews And A Gentile
    Thrice Wise
    Throwing The Spaghetti Against The Wall
    Timeless
    Time Vs Time
    Time Warp
    Tim Falladay
    Tims No More
    Tin Hat
    Tonto And Me
    Touching Stones
    Trevor’s Super Bad Day
    Trick Key
    Tubafore!
    Unbelievable
    Under A Bush? HELL NO!
    Uninvited
    Unlikely Saint
    Unmedicated
    Unspectacular
    Use Gently
    U-Turn
    Value Added
    Veni Vidi
    Virge 'n Mary
    WASP
    Watching Paint Dry
    Wayside Chapel
    Weaker Sex (?)
    We Stand On Guard For Thee
    We Were Waiting
    What Are You Prepared To DO?
    What Doesn't Kill You
    What Lazarus Knew
    Wheat Gum
    When Cows Fly
    When Odd Becomes Interesting
    Where Art Comes From
    While You Were Sleeping
    Why I Still Like Cowboys
    Witness
    Woke
    Wood Show
    Words
    Words... The Right Tool
    Worthy Adversary
    Worthy Is The Lamb
    You And Me And Rob

    RSS Feed

Contact Us

    Subscribe Today!

Submit
Picture
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Worth Repeating
  • My Book
  • FAQ