IN BETWEEN

MYSTIC HARBOR CEMETARY on our 45th anniversary visit in 2014

Shortly before graduating high school, I remember some kids thought it would be funny to drop a manikin from an overpass one night. Funny that is, until an older guy driving down the road below tried to avoid the manikin and was killed.

Recently our pastor reminded us that everyone in the room will die, but no one will know exactly "when or how" this final event will happen. The "when or how" got me to wondering, so I did a quick search. It was obvious he was right about the "when". Everyone I checked on didn't see it coming. And I found the "how" interesting; in some cases bizarre.

A guy in Brazil was killed by a cow that fell through the roof of his house onto his bed while he was asleep. Not sure what the cow was doing on his roof, but the article said it was a true story. 

The trainer and his two assistants were killed by the lion that shows up as the MGM movie logo, the one we all see at the beginning of movies. 

A guy fell to his death after he threw himself against a window on the 24th floor of a building in Toronto, in an attempt to prove to a group of visitors that the glass was "unbreakable" - a demonstration he had done many times before. The glass did not break, but popped out of the window frame, and he fell to his death. 

Most bank robberies occur on Tuesdays, so unless you want to schedule an appointment for your final event, you may want to bank on the other days.

Princess Diana had her navel pierced - and fitted with a 2.8-carat diamond stud just a few hours before her fatal car accident.  

These people may have planned to seek God at their 11th hour. Problem is, some died at 10:30. The unusual events reminded me of a poem called "The Dash", that is, how we spend our time IN BETWEEN. (birth and death).

The Dash by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?