Holbrook New Media Audio Feed

The first quote was contributed by my brother, Darrell Holbrook. Joycelyn Elders, president Clinton’s surgeon general. "…most of the people that die with heart disease and cancer are our elderly population, you know, and we all will probably die with something sooner or later." Most of us hope to die later rather than sooner. The idea of a “full life” is quite appealing. It seems that there is much less sympathy for an elderly person dying as opposed to a child or anyone short of 40. Granted, many older people who are in the throes of diseases such as heart disease and cancer will tell you they are ready to die and wonder why they are allowed to drag on and on. Tell me, at what age is it categorically expected that you have lived long enough and your passing is not as important as someone younger? Many people would choose the biblical estimate of “3 score and ten” or 70 years. My father is 80 years old. He is in great health and takes a long exercise walk every day. He has been happily married to my mother fo