To: twc-l@halmarax.demon.co.uk
From: Tony@halmarax.demon.co.uk (Tony Halmarack)
Subject: Re: Intro
In-Reply-To: <19960710.225311.12@halmarax.demon.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 07:55:32 +0100
In message <19960710.225311.12@halmarax.demon.co.uk> you wrote:
> We are John and Marcia Acton from Massena, New York, USA. Marcia has Stage
> IV Colon Cancer with mets in the liver. Following surgery last fall, the
> grand poo-bahs of medicine said she has a few years to live, at most.
> Traditional chemo failed and since quitting it a few months ago, she has
> felt good. Her first grandchild, Jessica, born 10 weeks ago has been the
> best palliative therapy yet!
>
> We are interested in hearing more from this rather untraditional-sounding
> listserver group.
>
> John & Marcia
Hello John and marcia,
TWC has several, open ended aims. The main one is defined quite
clearly (I hope) in the body of the charter. Another aim is to
have the status of death raised, on a par with birth and other
major life events, in celebratory terms.
As there are currently no effective contraception or abortion
techniques to use against death, then perhaps we should make as
colourful a feature of it as possible. This is not to imply that
any fear and pain associated with death should be glorified or
endured unnecessarily. It isn't the labour pains that are
celebrated at the birth of a child.
Fear of death contributes to a situation where old people are
herded into the seclusion of institutions, to go through the
final stages of life out of sight and out of mind. It also leads
to the kind of morbid fascination that demanded thousands to be
butchered for public gratification and entertainment in the Roman
amphitheatre; events that were echoed recently by the enormous
efforts made to televise the Bosnian conflict, compared with the
feeble ones made to alleviate the suffering.
After all, the increased need for planning and preparation isn't
the only reason that thousands of women weren't herded into the
Colosseum to give birth on a Saturday afternoon.
Best wishes,
--
Tony Halmarack =(*)= Tony@halmarax.demon.co.uk