Posted on 08/17/2005 4:06:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway
WALNUT CREEK - A mysterious little key, found tucked away in a dusty desk drawer, remains as confounding today as it was 13 years ago when Terry Ann Black found it. But while Black never learned what the key opened, she has used it to unlock a door and assist others in sorting out the estates of departed loved ones.
Black, a Lafayette resident who has worked 40 years as a nurse, is the author of ``Caring Is Not Enough: The Most Important Questions You Can Ask,'' a self-published booklet that contains more than 70 questions everyone should answer.
The responses are intended to help loved ones deal with banks, creditors, funeral homes and the other loose ends we leave behind when we die.
It is also an insurance policy against the kind of legal and emotional nightmare that enveloped Terri Schiavo and her family. After doctors concluded that Schiavo had suffered irreversible brain damage, her husband, Michael Schiavo, sought to remove life-sustaining measures and allow her to die. Schiavo's parents objected, and because the Florida woman had never written down her wishes, the case was fought bitterly in court and in the halls of public discourse, eventually involving Florida's governor and Congress.
Black's book is not a how-to, nor does it offer advice or direction on whether you should prolong life in circumstances such as Schiavo's. It is instead a checklist to ensure you've done everything you should, and a record for your loved ones to help ensure your last wishes are carried out.
``We work so hard to provide for our families,'' Black says, ``and then we risk losing it all.''
The book asks questions -- and provides a space for the answers -- about basic topics, but ones that it's doubtful we think about.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
I hope she included, "Who put the 'ram' in the 'ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong'?"
"Who put the 'ram' in the 'ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong'?"
Well, surely that would be one of the 70 questions..
"Who put the 'ram' in the 'ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong'?"
Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand.
Another question: "What is the question, the ultimate question regarding the meaning to life, the universe, and everything, to which the answer is '42'?"
Red
This is kinda funny. My father in law died two years ago. THis is the kinda guy he was....
He had a rotary phone in a house he built himself on 22 acres he paid for in cash in 1963, never used a credit card, paid cash for EVERYTHING including the cars he drove, the horsed he owned and the doc & vet bills. He ALWAYS had a wad of cash in his front pocket and only had a savings account. Once a month he went to the bacn to get cashiers checks to pay utilities. He was a bit player/stuntman from the 50's up until his last film, The Usual Suspects. One of the last real cowboys...
He also kept cash stashed around the house and buried all over the property in zip-locks and coffee cans. Not the best way to protect money from the environment.
Anyway, he became ill very suddenly. Lung Cancer. He was diagnosed and dead within 3 weeks. Never left the hospital except when we brought him home to die in his own bed.
He had been living with the pain for some time. We knew he had buried cash but didn't know where it was or how much...
Now we live on his ranch. So far we've found 6 cans over about 4 acres so far. We have about $14K in moldy, stinky $50.00 & $100.00's...we have to run them through the wash and lay them out to dry!
Recently, I assissted an elderly client in sellng his house and moving away. During the process, I came across dozens, if not hundreds, of old keys. I put them all in a ziplock bag and put them into storage along with the rest of his stuff.
Doubt that any of them actually lead anywhere useful. Old suitcases, old doors in places he lived 60-70 years ago.
We all keep old keys. I probably have a couple dozen, because I didn't put labels on them and can't remember what they are, so I can't ever throw them away.
Which reminds me. Next time I go to the hardware store, I should buy a package of those label-on-string thingies you can use to put labels on your keys.
Red
bttt
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed???
WOW...everyday is Treasure Island for you.
what's you address?, I'd like to send you a postcard and say hi (ha ha)
Hey, CUZ, I been looking for ya!!
I've thought the same thing myself.
What's the frequency, Kenneth ?
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