Farewell Ron

I found out today that an old mate of mine died a couple of days ago. I say 'old mate', he was old, certainly a pensioner, though I doubt if he'd reached his 'three score and ten', I don't know. I hadn't seen him this season. Season? Yes he was a fellow Dulwich Hamlet fan. Which doesn't make him a 'mate' in the normal sense. As I only ever saw him at football. His name was Ron the Print, as he used to work in the print, & was actually a proud veteran of the picket lines at Wapping. Ever since that dispute he had a bitter dislike of the police. He was an ordinary law abiding man, and always supported law & order. Until he saw the vicious old bill in action as Maggie's bully boys. He was always apologetic when he recalled those battles in east London, unable to quite believe he was so naive about the boys in blue.

I'd known him for as long as I can remember. He'd follow all the teams, like me. first Team. Reserves. Youth Team. Even the younger age group Junior teams on Sundays. Like me. But I knew nothing much about him. Apart from chatting at football. He fell ill with Parkinsons, which he'd got progressively worse with over the last ten years at least, but over the last few could barely sit properly in his wheelchair, with his body ravaged by the illness. But still he had to be at Champion Hill. Until, over the last season or so, he couldn't even get to the ground.
It was a relief to hear he'd died, even though I'm sad I am happy in a sense. That he's now no longer suffering in his shell that was laughably called a body.

In an ideal world I want to die quickly. Either in my sleep, or from a quick heart attack. Bang! And I'm gone. Not that I believe I will go like that. I'm certain that one day I will end my own life when I think I've had enough. Though i think that will be a conscious & rational mental decision, not based on physical illness. My biggest nightmare is to have a dehabilitating disease where my body goes, but my mind stays intact; or even where I'm 'vegetabled up' in an accident & lose use of my limbs, as another scenario I don't want to contemplate. Or to go blind. Which, despite the old tales, is NOT caused by wanking, or by not eating carrots. I happily wank every day, & cannot stand carrots.....in fact I've only ever had one use for carrots & not very often. Use your imagination. Thinnk Bugs Bunny. You know...what's UP doc! ;-)

But enough of that, back on topic of having a decapacitating illness. In a situation like that I would love to have the protection of a 'living will' whereby someone can assist me in dying. Which is totally illegal in this country, where anybody helping you would get done for murder. Which is why hundreds of people who want the tight to choose when to end their own life with dignity end up going to Switzerland, where assisted suicides are legal.
Which is a crazy situation. But a way round the law....for some. Not an option for those who are poor, or living alone with no support. It's all well and goo for families to be able to all go to cuckoo clock land and bid a final farewell to their loved ones, but you're living in cloud cuckoo land if you believe the same option is available to the poor on council estates, who may be struggling on benefits. All too easy to arrange if you're from a comfortable middle class family from Dulwich Village, but not so if you live on the East Dulwich Estate a mile or so in the other direction.

What a crazy world it is when a Member of Parliament has to bring in a Private Members Bill just ot get the matter discussed, even though there is no chance whatsoever of it going to a vote, never mind becoming law. Ease your conscience by discussing it, but not having the balls to vote for it. Scared of the crazy christian minority who think they speak for the country.
An ill dog is humanely put down. Horses are shot. Yet the supposed most intelligent creature of all , that is us human beings, have to suffer til the bitter end.
Suicide is a way out taken by many people with mental health problems. Often brought on by quacks tinkering with their medicine, or not giving them the proper support or treatment at it's 'too expensive' & after all 'nutters' aren't vote winners when it comes to spending taxpayers money. But who is to say they are all crazy? I've always maintained that suicide is not a cowards way out, but something that takes a lot of courage to go through with. Real craziness to me is the system in this country that forces people to live to a point way beyond what is a basic existence, where the 'kindness' of putting animals 'out of their misery' is more important than humans have a basic quality of life.

Give me an assisted end to life when I want to finish it, on my own terms, rather than the indignity of ending up like my friend Ron the Print please.
I don't know if he fought his illness tot he end, or whether each day he silently prayed for the end. Whichever it was I am just relieved his suffering is over & wherever his spirit may be in the afterlife he is at peace.