Longevity: a curse or a blessing?

The thought of culling anyone, other than myself, had not occurred to me and I don't think dark flights of extremist fantasy serve any purpose. The questions I pose arose out of witnessing a friend who has spent the past thirty odd years catering to the every whim of a selfish and long decrepit mother, now into her nineties, whose monthly costs exceed those of a young family of four. The daughter in question is now nearly seventy herself. Her own husband has died aged 72, having left her anyway a short while ago, fed up that his life and what remained of it was dominated by the emotional and physical demands of an ancient mother in law. I don't propose that anyone gets topped but that perhaps we need to be aware when we grow old, and all that is keeping us alive is pills, is the heavy cost our needs might have on the lives of others.

Thanks, blighters ...I think. I didn't think sacred cows grazed in these forums but that was probably naive. I doubt that any ancient folk will stumble on this thread and be pained by the notion that they're a living nuisance to their children, if that is what you mean, lenchenelf. If that happens, what I've said is scarcely going to add to the feelings of guilt because in the sensitive it will already be there in abundance and in the case of others, like the not unusual mother in law described above, they couldn't give a damn anyway. The great majority of children, if you can still call people in their fifties, sixties and even seventies children, dote on their parents and none would fail to give of their time and resources to ensure that their parents are happy and secure. So be it, and that is laudable and admirable but it's not my point. I recommend reading The Blessington Method written by Stanley Ellin in the 1950s - a short story published in a collection by Penguin. It is about the Blessington Corporation which discreetly murders old dependant parents for a modest consideration. Mr Threadwell, dumbstruck by the notion at first, is eventually persuaded to avail himself of their service to remove his wife's cantankerous old father who lives with them. When the deed is done h suddenly realises that he'll grow old and may in turn depend on his children. It ends thus: "Now,honestly, Mr Treadwell, can you imagine either of these affectionate and devoted youngsters doing a single thing - the slightest thing - to harm you?" The constriction around Mr Threadwell's throat miraculously eased; the chill around his heart departed. "No, he said with conviction, "I can't." "Splendid," said Bunce. He leaned back in his chair and smiled with a kindly wisdom. "Hold on to that thought, Mr Treadwell. Cherish it and keep it close at all times. It will be a solace and comfort to the very end."

lenchenelf, fair comment and a sensible caution. I haven't expressed myself very well in all of this - in essence I suppose I am talking mostly about old folk who were a pain to others throughout their lives and an even bigger pain in the never ending winding down of it. Terrence is right too. Some people in their nineties, lucky bastards, are still blessed with independence and all their mental and physical faculties, even if these have slowed down to a crawl. I would no more recommend them to the tender mercies of the Blessington Corporation than I would my own grand mother. She died on the spot at 72 digging a big hole to plant a plum tree, having refused to make any concessions whatsoever to age. The plum tree is doing well and bearing fruit now. My grand father punched out a few years earlier, blowing a valve on the slopes of Mount Etna which he insisted on climbing after downing several ales in the local pub, or whatever they call watering holes in Sicily. That sounds like a great idea Terrence. Maybe you should stop passing the buck to your over worked alter ego in that other universe and get cracking.