The Man Who Wouldn't Die

Wednesday night, Art Buchwald, known as "The man who wouldn't die," passed away -- almost a year after he was told he only had a few weeks to live. HE did not succumb to his illness -- his body failed him.

Renowned globally for his satirical, (oftentimes controversial) writing, he will be remembered as the man who always made you smile, and didn't let obstacles get him down. One of his friends was quoted in The New York Times obituary"Art Buchwald, Whose Humor Hit the Powerful, Is Dead at 81" as saying, "no matter what went wrong in his life, he could make a job out of setbacks, out of things that had gone wrong." After he learned (back in February of 2006) he had only a few weeks to live, he checked himself into a hospice and refused dialysis treatment for his failing kidneys. No one, not he nor his doctors, could explain why his kidneys kept working --- but they did… for almost an entire year longer than expected which enabled him to continue writing and even write the book Too Soon to Say Goodbye. (Perhaps he wasn't meant to pass away until he wrote that book).

During this last year, he kept his spirits up and his humor alive. In fact, he said "I'm having a swell time — the best time of my life" [with regards to being at the hospice]. In interviews, he was quoted as saying "I never realized dying was so much fun."

When a friend of Mr. Buchwald asked him, "What are you going to leave behind, buddy?" Mr. Buchwald shouted "Joy!"

Yes, this young man had a lot of "chutzpah."

We should all see him as an example for how we should treat end of life. Accept death gracefully--- and with humor. It's unavoidable --it'll happen sooner or later. Make the most of it and don't dwell on the fear of the unknown.