death

I used to believe…

Somewhere between the ages of 4 and 6, I linked the concept of my Grandfather's death (he died before I was born) and the fact that dead people were gone forever. I had heard people say that Grandpa "died young" (in his mid-40's, but I didn't know that) so I started to worry that I was going to die soon and wonder what sign I would have that it was going to happen.

Somehow I determined that if you pooped and peed at the same time, that meant you were going to die. A small bout of diarhea scared the hell out of me!

I used to believe…

when I was 5 My Gran when to the vet with her cat Jessabell. When she came back without her I asked where jessabell had gone. My Gran told me she had taken her to cat collage and would return when I was 11. I believed this so when I woke Up in the morning I looked for Jessabell and when I couldn't find her I asked "Did you remember to pick Jessabell up?" Everyone looked at me as if I was crazy

I used to believe…

My father's mother died when I was little. She was a rowdy opinonated German woman who drank a lot of beer. She scared me most of the time because of her loud voice. When she died, people at the funeral kept telling me, "Even though you can't see her, she'll always be looking after you."

I thought that was terrible. I felt like I could never do anything in private because of that. I used to sneak cans of beer up to my room, and leave them on the windowsill, hoping they would distract her while I played with my dolls.

I used to believe…

Whenever I was bad, my mom would ask, "Do you want a spanking?!" I thought a "spanking" was when she and I would wear ninja suits and have a swordfight to the death. Since I didn't want to die that way, I always said no.

I used to believe dead people moved us around and made us do silly and stupid things.

I used to believe that when people died, they would burp.

I used to believe…

When I was a child, I understood that a dead animal was gone forever and never coming back; I also knew that "put to sleep" meant the pet had to be euthanized because it was sick or injured. However, I do have a distinct memory of believing that animals went to heaven after they died--bodies and all! So it was puzzling to me that dead animals on the roadside didn't vanish into thin air, or that skeletons of animals could be dug up later on.

I grew up watching the news with my father a lot. I used to think "euthanasia" was "youth in asia" and used to constantly wonder why so many politicians were so opposed to the asian youngsters.

I was told as a kid that people and animals 'went to be an angel' rather than 'died', so I naturally believed that all the representations of angels that I saw were actually a type of ghost.

This stayed with me as a sort of superstition, so that anyone calling a beautiful child a 'little angel' around me would be told 'No! He's not! He's NOTHING LIKE an angel!', to their great bewilderment.

Also, the sight of children in Nativity plays in angel costumes even now fills me with dread. Don't their mothers KNOW they're tempting fate!

I used to believe…

When I was young my friend's older sister told me that if you didn't hold your breath while passing a graveyard, spirits could go up your nose. My aunt also said that if you show your teeth while passing one, someone iny our family would die. Nice huh

I used to believe…

My great grandmother died several years ago. I was quite young. I asked why she died and everyone said "heart attack" and I thought that meant her heart attacked her. Then I thought (from watching a lot of TV) that the only way to get hurt from a heart attack was to clutch your heart. Back to my great grandmother. Then I heard my cousin and aunt talking about my great grannie, and the were saying "Now she'll meet Elvis and other famous people of her time" and I said "I thought Elvis was a chef! I didn't know he died!!!" (I got Elvis and Emril mixed up). To this day I still think Elvis and Emril were the same person.

I used to believe…

when i was about six years old my grandparents told me that when you die, you will soon be born again in a diferrent family...
but the sad part is you will forget about your former family...
hehehe....
can i die now??......

I used to believe…

My cousins pet rat - Ratty - died when she was four. They buried Ratty in the garden and had a funeral for her. Bethany turned to her Mum and asked "If we water Ratty will she grow back?"

I used to think funerals were just some weird kind of party for grown ups and that they didn't really die because there was 'awake' afterwards and they would just open their eyes again and go back to normal!

I used to believe…

My dad told me a funeral home was a place where they put dead people on display. I misinterpereted it an thought that they put them up as museum exhibits. They would say things like "And this is Vinny Jackson, died in 1990 of a gunshot"

I used to believe…

We used to go to a flea market when I was younger. There was always a man there that sold old cowboy boots. My dad told me old cowboy boots came from "dead" cowboys. And that the "boot" man had a deal with the funeral homes. I am still not real sure where old cowboy boots do actually come from