WORDS TO LIVE BY, words to die by.

The following was printed in DEAR ABBY in the Sunday Oregonian on January 23, 2000 and is attributed to Robert Test (my preferred wording is in parenthesis) . . .

 AT a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.  WHEN that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body the the used of a machine. And dont't call this my "deathbead." Call it my "bed of life," and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.  GIVE my sight to a man (person) who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman (another).  GIVE my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.  GIVE my blood to the teen-ager who has been pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.  GIVE my kidneys to one who depends on a mcahine to exist from week to week.  TAKE my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body, and find a way to make a crippled child walk.  EXPLORE every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that someday a speechless boy will should at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her windows.  BURN what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.  IF you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all my prejudice against my fellow man.  GIVE my sins to the devil. Give my soul to God. If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.