Reflections on Death

By David Ettinger

A Tragic List
A few days back, I received an email telling me that my uncle, age 97, died after a long, dynamic life. Sadly, however, his last days were spent alone in a New York City hospital as visitors were barred due to the coronavirus.

The next day, Don Shula, the legendary American football coach, died at age 90. He, too, had lived a long and dynamic life.

The next day I watched a video on what had come of the five child stars of the 1971 movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. All but one is still with us, that one being the girl who was turned into a blueberry, Denise Nickerson. In 2018 she suffered a horrible stroke. In 2019, the suffering was so bad that she made her way to the medicine cabinet and swallowed every pill in it. She died the…