Death Means Nothing

Goodness, it's been ages since I have felt like writing.  Sometimes I get a little too pensive about things, and it's nothing very amusing to blog about, so, be thankful, I've spared you some agony.

But, since I don't want you to think me completely heartless and only full of sarcasm, I'll write this one time about some ponderings that I've had during my not even close to daily walks in the neighborhood.

If you have ever watched any of those movies or television series dealing with the end o' the world and/or the zombie apocalypse, you may notice that there are certain issues that are never really addressed.  Yes, there are big issues like our animalistic instincts or doubts about killing our spouses when they've gone zombie on us, but there are other, "smaller" things that are never mentioned, that kind of annoy me.

Stephen King seems to be able to touch on some of these things in his novels; he downplays some of  the enormity of the big issue and makes things viewable at the personal level.  It may be in just a sentence here or there, but they count.  "Janie was chopped in half when she went to water her garden."  "Bob died from a paper cut that became infected."  "Yazu died after a stomach bug left him dehydrated after the water ran out."  "Everything was silent because all of the birds and animals were dead."  No, those aren't actual quotes, but you get the idea.  Little, private things that happen, as a result of the Big Thing in progress.

When I'm on one of my pensive walks, I am always, and I mean, always, astounded by the beauty of our world, and how strange it would be if it ceased to exist.  The wind as it blows through the branches of the trees.  The squirrels dodging traffic in their frantic rush to do whatever it is they're always rushing to do.  The peacefulness and quiet beauty of a cemetery, which will be lost if the zombie thing goes down.

Yes, there will be other things on our minds when the apocalypse rolls around, like, figuring out how not to starve and whether it's okay to eat your neighbor's dog, but what about the other things?  Like, being able to have a good cup of coffee?  Or not worrying that once your cigarettes are all gone, they're really gone?  Or not being able to flush the toilet?  And not being able to take a leisurely walk because your cousin down the street wants to eat your brains?

Since I have plans to survive the zombie apocalypse, I know that once I'm past the whole initial excitement of robbing stores for food and hiding in a cave to avoid my undead friends and Family, I'm going to be pretty pissed about the coffee thing.  And I know that I will notice that the birds are not singing, the squirrels aren't dodging, and the breeze is not blowing.  I'm pretty sure that if I had the time to write in my cave, it would be all about the little things that I miss.   Including my walks in the Jewish cemetery down the street.

There is a gravestone there with the quote "Death Means Nothing.  Whatever we were to each other, we are still."  How pretty is that?  A little off topic, but too bad.

So, yes, my friends, here's my advice for the few pre-apocalypse months we have remaining:  Appreciate everything you see.  Know that you are fortunate to be in a world where the wind still blows and the neighbor's dog is just a dog.  Appreciate the crickets at night and the fact that your toilet flushes and even the fact that you think there may be a mouse family living in your home somewhere.

And worry not.  I will be around to write about these things, in case you forget.  Check out my cave when you get the chance.  I'll likely have a store of the world's remaining coffee, and a nice percolator coffee pot.  I'm planning ahead.