I just read that cardinals from all over the world are on their way to Rome to elect a new pope as soon as this one dies. I hope they've all brought packed lunches and a deck of cards, because if medical science succeeds in stabilising him and keeping him alive on a respirator, they could be in for a long wait. But then again, they're the ones who claim that that's still a life worth living.

Of course I can see why the Schiavo case stirred up so much emotion and I respect most people's feelings and opinions about life and death, but being the Dutch heretic that I am (and an ex-Dutch reformed protestant at that, who happily turned his back on this bunch of christian fundamentalists in his early teens), I'd also like to see some concensus on the definition of life. Life, or rather the quality of it, is a relative thing. It's also THE most personal thing that I can think of: if you're not in control of your own life at that level (mentally ill people etc. excepted of course), then what exactly are you in control of?

Although I admire the mental strength of people like Christopher Reeve and Stephen Hawking, I also admire the guts of this elderly Dutch senator who, although reasonably healthy -both physically and mentally- for an 80-something y/o, ended his life with the help of his GP, because he was convinced he 'had lived his life'. I'm sure that given the choice under these circumstances, I'd opt for the permanent way out, not because I'm living with some kind lemming-like deathwish, it's just that eating through a straw (as well as taking a leak through one), or zigzagging through the aisles of our supermarket as long as the air cilinders that supply the air that I breathe allow me to, doesn't sound very hot to me.

Btw, let me know when you've found another planet. Big hug, -Wil