Death’s doorstep
February 27, 2008For as long as we are alive, there is one thing that will remain universal to us, Death. We may not want to devote precious brain activity to thinking about it but sooner or later (I personally would prefer the latter) each of us will be at Death’s doorstep. But crossing over to death’s side isn’t the only time we encounter it. Often times death comes unpronounced. Even when we wait, we never know when it will take the warmth of our life with his cold hands. But sometimes, just sometimes people become aware of death’s arrival. In this world there are things known as death omens. These ominous signs are believed to herald the coming of death. Yes none of us want to know when death comes for someone, but I believe it happens.
The first time I anything like this occurred to me was also the first time I lost someone close. I was in grade 4 when my aunt was diagnosed with cancer she went into treatment and was winning the battle against cancer. It was a normal summer day when we heard our dog causing a commotion. This dog liked to bark a lot and we had gotten used to it, but this time it was different. Chucky (the dog) was not barking, he was HOWLING. For about a full minute he sent our spines tingling with that eerie sound. We tried looking for whatever disturbed him but didn’t find anything. All of a sudden he stopped and the phone rang. We answered it and got the news that our aunt passed away about a minute ago… right around the time the dog started howling.
My mom also experienced something similar. She used to keep a letter from my great grandmother, her grandmother. It was an old letter, written partly in Spanish on yellowing paper. One day she woke saying that she dreamt of having the letter framed. That day we went out and had the fragile piece carefully framed. It was nice but our joy didn’t last long. That very day we got a call from our relatives saying that our great grandmother finally succumbed to old age.
Not all my experiences with these omens are associated with people. There was one just a few years ago that dealt with my dog (Flash, not chucky, this time). I was in Cebu for vacation and I just come from my cousin’s place. It was just a short distance away so I decided that some exercise would be good. I regret taking that walk even today. You see on the way I saw a dead dog, brains all mushed up on the street. A classic case of hit and run I thought to myself. It was only when I reached my cousins house that I got a call from my dad saying that our Flash died. Apparently he just started foaming at the mouth then passed away.
Of course, one may argue that all this was a matter of coincidence. Sometimes I do tell myself that it was all coincidence. But the thing is, it keeps happening, not only to me but to others as well. I have often asked myself why this would happen. Perhaps death wants to give us a warning, no matter how little, that it is coming. I don’t look forward to knowing when death will come visiting but after you get over the shock of losing someone, you realize that having prior warning, even if only for a moment can help ease the burden. It might be coincidence, then again it might not. I have no proof but I believe and take these omens as prior warning.
[...] Original post by vince [...]
Summary:
The entry is about death omens or the awareness of death’s arrival. He gave the howling of a dog and its perceived connection with his aunt’s death as an example of this. Another example is the letter of his great grandmother and its connection to the of the said great grandmother. He also gave the death of his dog Flash and his sighting of another dog’s grim death. He ended stating that he believes these death omens even though he has no tangible proofs.
Assessment:
Good presentation of ideas.
The entry has good transitions.
The dog part is a little bit gruesome. However, this made the entry more interesting.
This entry is late but it followed the rest of the assignment’s guideline.
Summary:
The entry is about death omens or the awareness of death’s arrival. He gave the howling of a dog and its perceived connection with his aunt’s death as an example of this. Another example is the letter of his great grandmother and its connection to the of the said great grandmother. He also gave the death of his dog Flash and his sighting of another dog’s grim death as an example. He ended stating that he believes these death omens even though he has no tangible proofs.
Assessment:
Good presentation of ideas.
The entry has good transitions.
The dog part is a little bit gruesome. However, this made the entry more interesting.
This entry is late but it followed the rest of the assignment’s guideline.
the thought of death gives me the creeps. there’s just no evading it. someone said to me something about how we all want to go to heaven but we’re all afraid of dying.
Summary:
Vince tells about the hair raising and eerie belief that prior to death, a warning is sent to the people who are about to lose someone close. Three anecdotes were given to tell the readers how and why he believes in this. First was the howling of the dog before they received news of the death of an aunt. Next was when his mother decided to frame Vince’s great grandmother’s letter just because of a dream, and later on they find out that she passed away. Last experience of Vince was when he saw a stray dead dog on the street and later on gets a call from his father saying that their dog, Flash, has died.
The concluding paragraph states that all these occurrences might just be coincidences, since Vince has no concrete proof of these death omens. To him, the things he experienced are enough to convince him that these warnings do exist.
Assessment:
The anecdotes are very convincing and makes the reader think deeper about the omens that come before death. Each paragraph is introduced very well and the connections are clearly seen thanks to the transition sentences that are being utilized by Vince. The whole topic is quite creepy but the image of the dog is definitely puke-worthy!
Nice entry all in all, even though it was late. Good job and well, let’s not try to think about death too much now.