Death's Been On My Mind Lately by Dave Jaffe. Part Two.
Two things stand out when you think of death. First off, men are far more reckless than women and are much more likely to die than women whether they're young, middle aged or old. Any visit to an old people's home will show you many women but not too many men. The female of the species, any species, usually outlives the male and this includes human beings.
Women also take better are of themselves than men do. They watch their weight, diet more than men, and exercise more than males do. So as said before, they live longer than a man does. They don't take the risks that men do. Also, men work in some very dangerous jobs. In the 1960's, more than 60 men died every year working in the woods of British Columbia.
"I'll never work in the logging industry," a construction foreman once said. "It's just too bloody dangerous." On the other hand, a logger once told me, ""I'd never work in any mine. I'm scared of going underground." In recent years, sawmill closures, and mechanized mining and logging practices have cut the death rate for many industrial jobs. Yet there are still many men working in blue collar jobs and often men die in these jobs. These jobs are still filled mostly be men.
Anything connected to driving is dangerous. Every year over 2,000 people die in car crashes or traffic accidents in Canada. Over 600 people are murdered every year. In short you're three and a half times more likely to die in a car crash than be murdered. Many people who drive for a living are often victims of car and trucking accidents.
As you reach yours 50's, your chance of dying goes up and up. One of the fastest ways to die in your 50's, is to smoke tobacco and drink alcohol. My mother was a smoker who died of breast cancer at the age of 51. She never inhaled tobacco into her lungs. Yet one oncologist, a cancer specialist said that cigarette smoke can trigger cancerous tumours anywhere in your body.
Albert Giacometti was a famous sculptor who was born in Switzerland. In the late 1940's he became famous and rich. "He was almost isolated as a sculptor as his own figures were isolated in space," notes art critic Edward Lucie-Smith. Yet Giacometti wasn't isolated in his smoking habits. He was a chain smoker who rarely was seen without a cigarette in his mouth. He died after two massive heart attacks that were probably brought on by smoking. He was 66 years old. Mordecai Richler the well-known, Montreal-born novelist smoke tobacco and love to drink alcohol. Cancer carried him to the grave of 68.
Eating habits can speed up death or delay it. Vegans or people who don't eat animal flesh usually live longer than those who eat meat. Money plays a part too in helping you live longer. The rich live longer than the middle classes who in turn live longer than the poor. In any case we all die. Every year about 50 million people pass away. "He not busy being born" sang Bob Dylan, "is busy dying." Like most Canadians of my age, I'll pass away one of these days. Stroke, cancer or heart attack will kill me.
As the French say, "On verra," or "We'll see." Yet like billions of people who've lived before me, I'll be gone one of these days.
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