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Message: [QUOTE="diggerfoot, post: 2247961, member: 1673"] You bring up an interesting concern that I've thought about independently of my current situation. Having been a nomad through my long distance hikes I've always been interested in the cultures and lifestyle of early nomads. The elderly in nomadic culture generally were treated well, revered even, but when it neared their "time to go" they often went away from the group independently, similar to what other social animals do. Also, nomadic humans generally were more concerned about living well than living long. This contrasts with civilized society where we expect society to help us live longer and be more secure even at the expense of living well. I've always aspired, even before my current situation, to emulate earlier humanity and not fear death or worry about security and be more concerned about living well than living long. As part of that aspiration part of my hope has been to "hike off into the sunset" when it is my time to go. I prefer to die of hypothermia in the taiga, or having accidentally fallen into a raging creek, than die from dementia related deterioration in a nursing home. That independent approach also spares our children and avoids any complications with "death with dignity" laws. I hope I have the opportunity and determination to carry through with that. [/QUOTE]