Radiolab

Did anyone else find this piece absolutely devastating? right between the eyes

Umm you don't have to post this, but, I can't get the slideshow to work? Do I need a certain program or to subscribe?

Leslie,

You shouldn't need anything special to view the slideshow, but you do need to have javascript enabled in yor web browser. nnd you'll also want to allow pop-ups from http://www.wnyc.org .

-Radio Lab

Maybe you've never heard the expression: "Show some respect for the dead."

The respect was reflected in the story. You can not 'appreciate' their story without both their words and the photos.

Refreshingly realistic, having dealt with the death of both of my parents at home I think everyone should see death for what it is.

Leo, he wasn't dead but dying. They were respectful and the act of photography, you'll learn if you listen to the program, brought the family closer and allowed the grandfather to remain surrounded by life until his final moments with us.

I heard the story this evening on 91.7 in Detroit. Wow, I was just blown away. The father was wise to encourage his son to spend time with his grandfather. I'm sure the son is grateful for the experience.

This piece has really made me think a lot about morbidity and dying (not death). It is the helpless and painful end that seems so frightening about getting old. Death feels welcome compared to that.

Have our last days always been like this or have we begun to have more prolonged endings since we've been living longer in more recent years? This also smacks into more social problems and societal values/laws. Can someone choose not to spend one's final days unable to move around, with bedsores and fecal scalding, and someone else cleaning your body, feeding you, etc. (ie., should someone be allowed to choose to end life earlier?) It seems that no one else would be able to care for you as well as you can care for yourself. Nursing homes I've seen are sad, miserable, awful places...and family caring for the sick elderly can be stressed and overworked. But our elderly are living history and a way for us to touch our past, if only we talk to them. They are people, our ancestors and it is not right to "throw them away"...yet, do they want to live still? Perhaps some do and some don't and others are unable to communicate their desires.

Is there a purpose for aging and a decrepit body?

I wonder if I'd feel comforted if I was on my deathbed and my children and grandchildren were taking photos of me as part of a contest. I'm not sure if that would feel very loving and caring and respectful to me.