No god, goddammit!

I wasn't there but here is how the story sounds in my rememberance:

My grandfather was a life-long commie and atheist. He was as committed to his atheism as a firebrand preacher was to his bible.

"If people paid a more attention to the word they're in instead the world they are going to, maybe the world they live in would be a little better."

It's near the end of his life and he has had a stroke. He is lying on his death-bed, he can communicate only with a few weak hand squeezes to questions, other than that he is totally paralyzed. Finnally, the decision is made to stop giving water etc...

The time has come. A nurse asks if she should bring a priest to give the last rights.

Before anyone else has a chance to answer. His still, peaceful, paralyzed body suddenly erupts in protest. Out of pure will he shakes, rocks and contorts in his bed to make his will known. He was inconsolable until it was made clear that there would be no priest, no last rights, no bullshit.

The message was clear, not even over my dead body. He was still there. It tells a story. He was ready to go. If he wasn't he would have protested that as he protested the priest.

Here is a man not taking pascals wager, which may look like it takes guts. Maybe to a fool. But to my grandfather only an idiot would believe in Hell. If you believe that malarchy, heaven help you, and we know heaven won't. It's akin to believing in the easter bunny or taking a politican as face value. It didn't take guts. There's no hell. He just didn't want the moments before his death to insult his entire life.


Today's Song of the Day is "Burning Hell" by John Lee Hooker off his 1964 album "Burning Hell."

Crazy Fact: He had a contract with just about every label out there and a different alias for each One of my favorites is "The Boogie Man" (for Chess and Acorn)

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