Dancing with Death

Dancing with Death

Dancing with Death

Having taught the humanities for years, I am keenly aware of the topic of dancing with death or what the French call La Danse Macabre. Looking back on the mid-14th century, Europe lost 100-200 million people due to the pandemic known as the Black Death. From 1346-53, the Black Death killed half the population of Europe because of the fleas of Oriental rats.

The art world from the 14th century and for many years later reflected upon Europe's dance with death. Artists like Pieter Brueghel, Hans Holbein, Albrecht Dürer, and many others have explored that topic.

Pieter Brueghel, The Triumph of Death</span>.

Pieter Brueghel, The Triumph of Death.

The Black Death influenced writing also. This is John Donne's reflection upon the dance with death.

No Man is an Island
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were: any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

While Europeans realized their finiteness, each of us in our own lives will also face that reality. In 2008, I danced with death twice. Fortunately, I was able to lead death while dancing on both occasions. My dances were due to a traumatic brain injury from a fall and prostate cancer. In retrospect, they were both blessings. My perspective upon life is radically different from what it was prior to those two dances. I am driven to be productive in life. It has motivated me to do more for my family and friends. However, I want to leave a legacy to those beyond them. I have traveled extensively in the States and overseas. Many people need assistance both here and abroad. I realize that I will not always be able to lead death while dancing in the future. Carpe Diem informs my activity in life.

We all need to work at making our world a better place for all to live, because we will all ultimately dance with death. Our time is limited, as Professor Keating said, before we all will "fertilize daffodils."

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Brown vs Board thumbnail Brown vs Board of Education... A Time to Reflect 05/17/17
I'm Not Going Silently thumbnail Do Not Going Gently Into That Good Night I Will Rage 05/05/17
To Become thumbnail To Become… What You Might Have Been 04/28/17
Getting It Together thumbnail Getting It Together… An Avenue to Acquiring Dreams 04/26/17
The Meaning of Life thumbnail The Meaning of Life It Is All About Fighting the Good Fight for Others 04/19/17
Bowl of Cherries thumbnail Life Is a Bowl of Cherries Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men 04/14/17
Chick Magnet thumbnail Chick Magnet And the Hauntings 03/31/17
The Hauntings thumbnail The Hauntings About Bobby and the Gingers 03/27/17
On Riding to Samara thumbnail On Riding to Samara Then and Now.... 03/10/17
Invictus thumbnail Invictus Thank You, Mrs. Davis 03/06/17
A Dog's Purpose thumbnail A Dog's Purpose The Person's Purpose 03/03/17
Robert the Bruce thumbnail Robert the Bruce I'll Drink to Him! 02/17/17
Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... thumbnail Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... And Ginger 02/15/17
Ginger, Socks, and Poe thumbnail Ginger, Socks, and Poe Finding Lenore.... 02/13/17
The Meaning of Ginger thumbnail The Meaning of Ginger The Winter Solstice 02/01/17
How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? thumbnail How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? Answer: Ikigai 01/20/17
We Don't Have a Democracy... thumbnail We Don't Have a Democracy... Yet Either 01/06/17
A Lesson of Life thumbnail A Lesson of Life Learned from a Cockroach 01/04/17
Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady thumbnail Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady It Is All About Determination 01/02/17
FLASH!!! thumbnail FLASH!!! We Have More Time This Year. 12/30/16
I'm Hanging My Lantern thumbnail I'm Hanging My Lantern For All To See 12/23/16
Accomplishing Things in Life... thumbnail Accomplishing Things in Life... Even Long Shots 12/16/16
Mentor Tell You Something About You thumbnail Mentor Tell You Something About You The Value of Post-it Notes 12/09/16
Moh Moh's Email thumbnail Moh Moh's Email Big Dreams Never Run Smooth 12/02/16
Live While Dying thumbnail Live While Dying Rather Than Die While Living 11/28/16
Deplorable... thumbnail Deplorable... Defining the Definition 11/25/16
Roll Me Up thumbnail Roll Me Up I Am Free to be Me at 73 11/18/16
Tom Brokaw... thumbnail Tom Brokaw... Another Dancer 11/16/16
The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan thumbnail The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan Triangulation Process 11/14/16
On the Road Again... thumbnail On the Road Again... Like a Gypsy 11/07/16
The Lady thumbnail The Lady And the Peacock 11/04/16
Dostoyevsky Danced with Death thumbnail Dostoyevsky Danced with Death As a Result, Became a Great Writer. 11/02/16
The Value of Grandchildren thumbnail The Value of Grandchildren Links to the Past and Future 10/31/16
Teach Your Children... thumbnail Teach Your Children... To Dream 10/28/16
Resurrecting Dashed Dreams thumbnail Resurrecting Dashed Dreams By Continuing to Dream 10/17/16
A Bridge Too Far thumbnail A Bridge Too Far Isn't Always the Case 10/14/16
Death Teaches thumbnail Death Teaches While You Dance 10/12/16
What a Difference a Few Years Makes thumbnail What a Difference a Few Years Makes If You Are Joisting with Windmills 10/10/16
Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail thumbnail Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail Remember the Past 10/05/16
Dealing with Impossible Dreams Realistically... thumbnail Dealing with Impossible Dreams Realistically... Or Getting All My Ducks Lined Up 09/26/16
GiGi's Psychoanalysis thumbnail GiGi's Psychoanalysis Me and My Hauntings 09/23/16
The Fighting Téméraire thumbnail The Fighting Téméraire Explained My Nostalgia to Me 09/21/16
The Donald as the Dark Knight thumbnail The Donald as the Dark Knight He Ain't Don Quixote 09/19/16
Why Do I Care? thumbnail Why Do I Care? More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care? 09/16/16
Confucius Say thumbnail Confucius Say, "Petty Man Understands Profit" 09/14/16
thumbnail Return to Myanmar Dream Big 09/02/16
Rediscovering the Past... thumbnail Rediscovering the Past... Eleanor Roosevelt 08/31/16
The Meaning Behind the Man thumbnail The Meaning Behind the Man The Man of La Mancha 08/29/16
Trying and Failing... thumbnail Trying and Failing... Is Better than Failing without Trying 08/26/16
The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's thumbnail The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's Warren Buffett's 10 Ways to Get Rich 08/24/16
Listening to My Mentors thumbnail Listening to My Mentors And Dreaming Impossible Dreams 08/19/16
The Terrorism Trifecta thumbnail The Terrorism Trifecta Three More Dances with Death 08/12/16
The Kiss thumbnail The Kiss From Life to Death 08/08/16
We Must Address Conservativism... thumbnail We Must Address Conservativism... For Two Essential Reasons 08/05/16
The Value of Giving Gifts... thumbnail The Value of Giving Gifts... To Young Children 08/01/16
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us. 07/29/16
My Love Letters thumbnail My Love Letters They Must Be Written 07/22/16
We Shall Overcome thumbnail We Shall Overcome A Belief Amid Darkness 07/18/16
Last Words thumbnail Last Words Or Don Quixote's Joists with Windmills 07/04/16
Talking to a Tree thumbnail Talking to a Tree Growing in a Silo 06/24/16
Bloody Hands and No Backbone thumbnail Bloody Hands and No Backbone What a Legacy 06/20/16
The Angel Spoke... thumbnail The Angel Spoke... And I Listened. 06/10/16
The Thinkers Three thumbnail The Thinkers Three Jack, Owen, and Me 06/06/16
The Advice of Master Kong thumbnail The Advice of Master Kong Enjoy Life by Not Working 05/30/16
Morphing of the Flu with Polio thumbnail Morphing of the Flu with Polio A Strange Juxtaposition 04/29/16
The Third Dance thumbnail The Third Dance Apparently Was a Misstep 04/27/16
The Relationship Between Death and Life thumbnail The Relationship Between Death and Life Death Can Cause Us to Live Life 04/25/16
I am Don Quixote thumbnail I am Don Quixote But I Am Not from La Mancha 04/15/16
thumbnail Maude Adams Found Somewhere in Time 04/13/16
In My Life thumbnail In My Life I'll Never Lose Affection for People and Things 04/11/16
Christopher Reeve thumbnail Christopher Reeve Another Dancer Who Could Also Fly 04/08/16
Worthless Windmills thumbnail Worthless Windmills Time Will Tell Their Worth 04/01/16
Learning from My Mentor thumbnail Learning from My Mentor A Knight-Errant On His Deathbed 03/28/16
I Want to Have Dinner for Two thumbnail I Want to Have Dinner for Two A Date and Someone Who Has Done the Dance 03/23/16
Einstein's Other Theory thumbnail Einstein's Other Theory From a Genius 03/18/16
Could I Have This Dance... thumbnail Could I Have This Dance... For the Rest of My Life? 03/11/16
What Drives Me? thumbnail What Drives Me? And the Answer Is.... 03/07/16
On Seeing the Light thumbnail On Seeing the Light Chuck, Paul, and Me 03/04/16
Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave thumbnail Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave For Their Assistance 03/02/16
My Casablanca Party thumbnail My Casablanca Party Morphed Into My La Mancha Party 02/29/16
Two Roads in the Wood thumbnail Two Roads in the Wood Choose Wisely 02/26/16
The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper thumbnail The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper Follow Randy Pausch's Example 02/24/16
Grave or No Grave thumbnail Grave or No Grave That is the Question 02/22/16
Best of Times, Worst of Times thumbnail Best of Times, Worst of Times It Is Your Choice; Choose Wisely 02/19/16
I Am Looking for Another Dancer thumbnail I Am Looking for Another Dancer The Ultimate Partner 02/17/16
Buddha's Strange Parable... thumbnail Buddha's Strange Parable... Which We Need to Understand 02/15/16
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming About My List of Dulcineas 02/12/16
The Third Dance... thumbnail The Third Dance... Maybe or Maybe Not 02/08/16
Somewhere in Time thumbnail Somewhere in Time The Importance of Memories 02/04/16
The Drinkable Book thumbnail The Drinkable Book I Wish I Had One While in Indochina 02/03/16
Another Dancer thumbnail Another Dancer David Hume 02/01/16
Revitalizing My Brain thumbnail Revitalizing My Brain After Winding Up in ICU 01/25/16
Dreams will come to you.... thumbnail Dreams will come to you.... If You Are True to Your Quest 01/22/16
A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination thumbnail A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination Don't Miss Your Destiny 01/20/16
Miguel Cervantes thumbnail Miguel Cervantes As Don Quixote 01/18/16
"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun." Randy Pausch is Correct 01/15/16
The Little Match Girl thumbnail The Little Match Girl And The Golden Statue 01/11/16
The Very Strange Year of 2008 thumbnail The Very Strange Year of 2008 A Year to Remember 01/08/16
The Gift of an Angel thumbnail The Gift of an Angel It is More About My Feelings 01/06/16
New Year thumbnail New Year New Booty 01/01/16
Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow thumbnail Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow One of the Saints 12/25/15
Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me thumbnail Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me To Get Off My Arse 12/18/15
Going to Hell in a Handbasket thumbnail Going to Hell in a Handbasket And the Tibetan Mask 12/14/15
Doing the Dance Again thumbnail Doing the Dance Again How to Address Both New Dances 12/11/15
I Know Who I Am... thumbnail I Know Who I Am... And Have Found Two People Who Understand Me 12/04/15
Take Your Passion and Make It Happen thumbnail Take Your Passion and Make It Happen Flashdance Follow-up 11/27/15
Responses to Paris thumbnail Responses to Paris Both Are Vital 11/25/15
What a Feeling thumbnail What a Feeling And It Is a Great Feeling 11/20/15
Pandora Provides Hope... thumbnail Pandora Provides Hope... Don Quixote Provides Determination 11/09/15
Don Quixote thumbnail Don Quixote Then and Now 11/04/15
Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... thumbnail Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... And He Knows Life Well Also 11/2/15
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True 10/19/15
The Old Pine Table thumbnail The Old Pine Table An Object of Renewal and Rebirth 10/14/15
It's Confession Time... thumbnail It's Confession Time... And It Isn't Sunday 10/09/15
The Mahogany Bench thumbnail The Mahogany Bench A Place for Dreaming.... 10/07/15
The Right to Live thumbnail The Right to Live And the Right to Die 10/05/15
Squirt's Observations of Her Papa thumbnail Squirt's Observations of Her Papa A Modern Day Eppie's Reflection 10/02/15
The Little Wooden Box thumbnail The Little Wooden Box An Updated Pandora's Box 09/30/15
Collecting Coins thumbnail Collecting Coins A Tradition Continues 09/28/15
A Great Dancer with Death thumbnail A Great Dancer with Death A Sobering Experience 09/21/15
Putting the Pieces Together thumbnail Putting the Pieces Together The Joy of Coming of Age 09/18/15
The Tulip Pitcher thumbnail The Tulip Pitcher A Picture of Springtime 09/16/15
The Felt Picture thumbnail The Felt Picture A Picture of Hopefulness 09/09/15
A Second Look at Life thumbnail A Second Look at Life Toward the End of Life 09/07/15
From Whence Does the Spark Come? thumbnail From Whence Does the Spark Come? The Creative Act of Pondering 08/24/15
The Value of Pain thumbnail The Value of Pain Or How to Retrieve the Torpedo 08/21/15
A Man with a Mission... thumbnail A Man with a Mission... Sinking a German U-boat 08/12/15
Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: thumbnail Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: Elizabeth and Rosa 08/03/15
The Pied Piper of Hamelin thumbnail The Pied Piper of Hamelin A Strange Tale 07/31/15
Dinner with GiGi thumbnail Dinner with GiGi The Socratic Method of an Older Woman 07/17/15
What Makes Me Tick thumbnail What Makes Me Tick Finally, an Explanation 07/12/15
What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, thumbnail What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, Which I Finally Fully Understand 07/10/15
Alan Seeger thumbnail Alan Seeger And His Dance with Death 07/04/15
What I Learned About Life... thumbnail What I Learned About Life... From Facing Down the Dragon 06/29/15
Wading Through the Water of Life thumbnail Wading Through the Water of Life Advice by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 06/24/15
Lincoln Danced with Death thumbnail Lincoln Danced with Death ...and Continued on with Life. 06/10/15
The Benefit of Problems thumbnail The Benefit of Problems Or the Only Means to Success 06/08/15
Cancer and Crabs thumbnail Cancer and Crabs Strange History that They Both Share 06/05/15
Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death thumbnail Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death Parallels Our Dances with Death 06/03/15
Slaughterhouse-Five thumbnail Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut's Dance with Death 06/01/15
thumbnail Dancing with Death Allows You to Live 05/22/15
It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... thumbnail It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... And Cracked My Head 05/18/15
It Is About How You Lead Your Life thumbnail It Is About How You Lead Your Life Start With Refining Words 05/11/15
Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens thumbnail Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens How to Avoid the Ghosts 05/08/15
It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. thumbnail It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. Choose Wisely 05/04/15
Nepal Then thumbnail Nepal Then And Now 05/03/15
The Value of Writing thumbnail The Value of Writing It Forces You To Remember 05/01/15
We Get Old Too Soon... thumbnail "We Get Old Too Soon... And Wise Too Late" 04/27/15
Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today thumbnail Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today How Has America Changed? 04/26/15
Fertilizing Daffodils thumbnail Fertilizing Daffodils But in the Meantime.... 04/24/15
How Do We Learn? thumbnail How Do We Learn? The Lessons in Learning 04/13/15
Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow thumbnail "Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow." "Learn as if You Were to Live Forever." 04/06/15
Lead Death as You Dance with Death thumbnail Lead Death as You Dance with Death It Will Change Your Life 03/24/15
Some People Feel the Rain thumbnail Some People Feel the Rain Others Just Get Wet. 03/16/15
Experience thumbnail Experience Redefining the Word 03/05/15
The Daunting Duality thumbnail The Daunting Duality: Long Life vs. Giving It All Up 02/04/15
My Head Fake thumbnail My Head Fake During My Last Lecture 02/03/15
Graham Kerr and Me thumbnail Graham Kerr and Me On Scottish Delicacies 02/02/15
Looking Back and Remembering thumbnail Looking Back and Remembering Looking Forward and Hoping 01/20/15
It Was the Best of Times thumbnail It Was the Best of Times It Was the Worst of Times.... 01/01/15
Death is the Best Invention of Life thumbnail Death is the Best Invention of Life Breathing Is Not Living 11/14/14
Seeing When You Think You See... thumbnail Seeing When You Think You See... The Difference is Dazzling. 10/31/14
A Lesson of Life from Alexander the Great thumbnail A Lesson of Life from Alexander the Great "Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal." 10/17/14
Pushing Oneself... thumbnail Pushing Oneself... What I Learned from T. S. Eliot 09/14/14
Articles as a Living Legacy... thumbnail Articles as a Living Legacy... Why I Write 09/12/14
Getting Really Organized... thumbnail Getting Really Organized... Late in Life 07/31/14
First, It Was a Car and then Women thumbnail First, It Was a Car and then Women Jack and the Learning Curve to Adulthood 07/21/14
On Seeing the Light... thumbnail On Seeing the Light... More Clearly 03/28/14
An Interesting Thing Happened to Me thumbnail An Interesting Thing Happened to Me ...On the Road to Mandalay. 01/20/14
What Makes Me Tick? thumbnail What Makes Me Tick? The True Value of Pain 01/07/14
Leaving a Legacy thumbnail Leaving a Legacy A Legacy More Valuable Than Money 01/05/14
Winter Contains Spring... thumbnail Winter Contains Spring... I'm Enjoying the Blessing 09/27/13
Forrester and I in Our Winters thumbnail Forrester and I in Our Winters Seasons Change Young Man... 09/10/13
The Passing of Elmo to a New Generation... thumbnail The Passing of Elmo to a New Generation... Or the Passing of Cookie Monster to a Free Scotland 07/17/13
Do You Have Any Suggestions... thumbnail Do You Have Any Suggestions... On Planning My New Life? 05/18/13
Wondrous World of Why? thumbnail Wondrous World of Why? On Staying Engaged in Life 02/03/13
The Fighting Temeraire thumbnail The Fighting TÉMÉRaire Growing Old and Understanding Art 12/15/12
The End of Time Won't Come on December 21st... thumbnail The End of Time Won't Come on December 21st... Unless My Prediction is Wrong 12/12/12
Reflections on Getting Old thumbnail Reflections on Getting Old... One of the Reasons for My Loving Grandchildren 11/23/12
Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom... thumbnail Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom... Cuddling with Grandchildren 07/23/12
Advice to Jack thumbnail Advice to Jack Having Lived Much of My Life 01/15/12