Remarkable quote by Stephen Jay Gould: “It has become, in my view, a bit too trendy to regard the acceptance of death as something tantamount to intrinsic dig

Remarkable quote by Stephen Jay Gould: “It has become, in my view, a bit too trendy to regard the acceptance of death as something tantamount to intrinsic dignity,” he wrote in his 1985 essay. “Of course I agree with the preacher of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to love and a time to die—and when my skein runs out I hope to face the end calmly and in my own way. For most situations, however, I prefer the more martial view that death is the ultimate enemy—and I find nothing reproachable in those who rage mightily against the dying of the light.” (“The Median Isn’t the Message”) A personal hero of mine, Philip Berrigan refused most treatment on his liver cancer and died within a year of diagnosis. My mother 'got martial' in Gould's terms and fought doctors and death until she got her lung cancer taken care of. She is on the 'long tail' of the curve. Impossible to know how one would react. I can see the reasons in both cases and respect both decisions. How does one know that one's "skein has run out"? (what a nice turn of phrase)