MY FINAL JOURNEY

Day 130 of the Lower Puna Eruption, and residents of Leilani Estates were finally allowed to return home:

• 1800 people were forced to evacuate
• 700 homes were destroyed
• lava into ocean ended on August 6

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I will shortly leave on a direct 9.5 hour flight from Honolulu to Newark.  This will, hopefully, not be my final journey.

I've been more and more thinking about my end of life.  Writing about being Purgatory inspires you to consider the next step.  As I don't believe there is a Heaven, Purgatory, of course, is just a device to inject some humor into my postings.   While I certainly appreciate those out there praying for me, my current thoughts are on maximization of enjoyment at minimal stress, with, maybe, a final journey.

The odds are, the end will occur either suddenly, or after a short illness.  I'm living at 15 Craigside, where they promise to take care of me forever, even if I  run out of money.  That thought is comforting, making for a secure life.  However, not long after I moved in to this seniors' community, where Floor 2 is a hospital, the transition to death for most, it occurred to me that I definitely won't want live to for any length of time in pain, boredom and discomfort, where I'd have zero freedom.

Certainly, a gun or jumping off a cliff or anything too traumatic is just not in my DNA.  Dementia is an apprehensive factor.  So what are my options?

My optimal conclusion is a luxuriantly hedonistic and terminal final journey.  I've been around the world by air about a dozen times, twice in first class.  But I won't want to maximize my stops.  Perhaps a couple of places before ending in that fatal city.

To quote Wikipedia:

As of March 2018, active human euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia,^[1] Luxembourg, and Canada.^[2] Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and in the US states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Washington DC,^[3] and California.^[4] A law legalizing euthanasia in the Australian state of Victoria will come into effect in mid-2019.

The terms are confusing, but, in summary, the USA does not allow any kind of euthanasia unless the patient is terminally ill or cannot be cured.  There is a gray area called passive euthanasia to remove extraordinary measures.

Europe tends to be more liberal, for Switzerland allows assisted suicide for those who are just tired of life (21% provided this reason).  A British art teacher applied to Dignitas fearing the prospect of a prolonged period in hospital or nursing home.  She was, though, 89.

Dignitas, a non-profit organization near Zurich, was founded twenty years ago and "assisted" 2100 patients.  While a series of drugs was mostly used, there were several cases where helium was applied to minimize legal implications.  In 2011 voters there rejected by a 78% vote NOT to ban non-residents from utilizing this service.  Cost?  $8000, although costs can be reduced for hardship.

There is a second group called Exit International, which began in Australia about two decades ago, and they operate worldwide, even in Switzerland.  You can subscribe to their Peaceful Pill Handbook for $85, although Amazon sells the Kindle version for $21.

So, anyway, rather than just dying in a nursing home, I'm gathering information to determine if a planned final journey could be in my future.  First class to somewhere, probably Europe, or maybe Australia, with stops in Japan, Thailand, and, perhaps, Mauritius.  The best hotels, the finest cuisine, and anything else worthy of consideration. 

Then again, dementia could overcome my current attitude, or, if I live that long, maybe maximize my sunset years the more traditional way.

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Hurricane Olivia is still at 75 MPH, with a path right over the Hawaiian Islands.  But where?

Hopefully, for me, Hurricane Florence, projected to reach Category 4 strength, will take the consensus path towards the Carolinas:

I'll keep you informed through my perch in the Sheraton Times Square New York.

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