death

i used to think that everyone who died in a film was a volunteer. This was shattered when a comic - probably the 'Eagle' - printed a feature on how film stunts worked!!

I used to believe that when I saw a brilliant beam of sun poking through the clouds, a person had just died and was going to heaven. I don't know how this belief started, but it was confirmed for me once: I saw one of these scenes while returning from a trip to my grandmother's house, and found out when we got home that our neighbor (whom we were close with) had died of cancer. Even now (age 25) when I see a sunbeam like this, I get a little nervous.

I was told by a friend in elementary school that you had to hold your breath while passing by a cemetary. If you didn't, you would get "Cemetary Breath" and die within a few days. There was a huge cemetary near my house that my family would regularly drive past, but they never noticed me turning blue each time we drove past it.

I used to believe…

when i was ten i learnt the word "suicide" and up until the time i was twelve i thought it was pronounced "sewercide" and that when people killed themselves they would do it in the sewer to avoid possible rescue.

I didn't understand why the British national anthem was called "God Save The Queen" - so I asked my brother what the Queen needed to be saved from and he said that she was being chased by swarms of bees that lived in Buckingham Palace. That sounded plausible to me at the time...

I used to believe…

when i was little i used to believe to die i had to twirl around and kiss my toes at the same time.. so one day i was really sad because my favorite fish died and i wanted to die .. so there i was twirling around on my front lawn with my butt up in the air trying to kiss my toes at the same time crying "GOD PLEASE TAKE ME FROM THIS HORRIBLE WORLD" and all my neighbours thought i was totally insane .. and the men with the white coats came and took me away and i just got out .. HOORAY FOR SANITY

I used to believe…

my family's cat, tyronne, died when my sister was 5. my parents burried him under the big evergreen in our backyard. for years my sister thought that tyronne was just walking around under the ground in the backyard--that being dead meant that you lived underground. when we had moles that pushed up the yard, she thought that was evidence that tyronne was playing and jumping up!

I used to believe…

When I was fourteen, my parents tried to tell me that my year old pet lamb and it's two older friends had 'gone to live on another farm'. This was a day or two before the freezer was restocked with lamb chops and mutton. They must have felt very guilty.

I used to believe…

When I was little, I used to believe that my grandparents would never die & that only OTHER kids' grandparents died, not mine. Then they started passing away, starting with my grandfather when I was 9, & I learned that I could keep them alive in my heart. I'm 52 & can still "see & hear" them clearly in my mind. I will never forget any of them.

I had an ant farm when I was a child. Somehow I managed to name most of the ants, as if I could tell them apart. One of the ants got caught on the little green plastic bridge when I poured the ants into the ant farm. He stayed on the bridge all the time, never moving, so I named him Lazy. I didn't realize he was dead until the other ants dragged him off and "buried" him a week later.

I used to believe…

When I was in 3rd grade our neighbor accidentally ran over and killed my dog. It was easier for me to believe that he had done it on purpose than that an adult could have so little control over the world. Every morning for the next six months I would get up early and watch for the mailman to deliver his mail, then stuff his mailbox full of toads to avenge the murder of my pet.

I used to believe…

My family went to visit my Grandparents and I knew the trip had something to do with my Great Uncle and a “wake.” I wasn’t sure what a wake was or what that meant, but I knew that we had to look nice and we were packing Sunday clothes. On the first night, the whole family got dressed up and went to a big party. All the relatives, neighbors and old friends were there also dressed up and they were smiling and talking. It was an open casket wake and when I finally spotted him lying there, I assumed he was asleep. I didn’t understand how he could sleep through all the noise, but I kept waiting for the part where he would wake up and we would all yell "Surprise~!!!"

I used to believe…

When i was eight my grandma died and to help me cope with it my mom told me that god took people with special talents or gifts up to heaven with him and the reason he took my grandma was because god thought it was time he learnt how to knit

I used to believe…

When my Sister & I were young my Mother told us that the animals on laying on the side of the road were only sleeping (not dead). I always worried that the side of the road was not a good place for a nap because the animals could get hit by a car. I still like to think they are only sleeping.

I used to believe…

When I was little I asked my mom why there were so many dead animals by the side of the road. She responded that they had been waiting to cross and had become mesmerized by all the passing traffic, and had simply died of dizziness and confusion. Not only did I believe this, I was convinced that I might die while crossing the street if I looked too long at the cars. When I found out that they had actually been run-over I was devistated.

I used to think that the peolple who dies in the movies, in westerns for instance, was people that wanted to commit suicide and the money they earned as actors was paid to the family