...and I don´t mean on tv or like in The Sixth Sense or something. I mean for real, face to face so to speak. If so, who was it and how did it feel?

I hadn´t thought of it much until someone asked me about this a while ago. Then I realized that I haven´t seen a single dead person in my whole life. Something is wrong with a society that is this "good" at keeping dead bodies out of sight. If we had been better at embracing death and facing the dead, then we probably wouldn´t be as scared of death as we are. At least that´s what I think.

ever time Al Gore gives a speech.

Only pictures. I see them almost daily because of my job... they're usually mangled because they've all been involved in gruesome car accidents.

I'll never forget the first claim I got. It was terrible. His name was Manuel, and he went up a freeway offramp, slamming headfirst into a minivan coming off... he killed a 2-year old girl. He was drunk. His body was chopped in half... his left arm was even severed off, so they laid it on his torso. It was bad... I never had to see the girl, because she didn't die until she was in the hospital.

It took a lot for me not to puke or be emotional.

i've seen 5 dead people up-close-and-personal, not at funerals.

it's very strange. 4 of them I've seen right after death (and right before death) and it never got easier. It's weird cause I would know the person was gone just walking into the room, I wouldn't even have to look to know in my heart that they were gone. It's hard for me to put it into words still, I'll try again in a bit...

INSATIABLE said:

WHAT DO YOU DO???

endorphin74 said:

I'm a specialty represented auto claims adjuster.

INSATIABLE said:

ohhh, I see...at pictures like that are hard to look at, my dead people were never mangled, just very sick and wasted

It does't faze me much anymore... my situation is totally mild, but the things we can de-sensitize ourselves of, ya know?

INSATIABLE said:

Yes it sounds like only a lobotomy should suffice.
They should pay you extra for that part of the job...

INSATIABLE said:

I s'pose

INSATIABLE said:

I wonder if it would be different if you had to see them in real life?

yes, i have...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Who was it and what was it like?

Vibrator said:

it wuz my mom, and i wuz 7 years old. you figure it out.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

CarrieMpls said:

thank you, kitty!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Vibrator said:

ooh, much different!! I don't know if I could do that. the blood everywhere, guts 12 feet this way, arm over here, etc...


the ones who take the pictures and clean up the mess better be making some bank! I'd puke until I passed out.

My co-worker and I were just talking about her previous job interning at a hospital years ago... and the basement morgue. The shit she saw was unreal.

No, I haven't actually. My grandmother was once the first person to come across a decacipated woman who had just crashed into a tree after passing her. She took over five years before she told any of us that story.

actually, yes i have, more than i care to count really. but the thing is that there is much beauty in death and it is our responsibilty to be strong, to hold and comfort them as they pass out of this life if we are given the opportunity to do so. just to give one example, i have held a newborn as she moved on, as horrible, sad and heart wrenching as it was there was also mad beauty and peace in the moment. i have been surrounded by much life AND death in my life and have learned to embrace both of them equally, there is nothing to fear really. death is just another step on the path.

I have seen a few. One was a very good friend of mine who was killed in a drive-by shooting. Another was my roomate who overdosed on H. Another was a highschool friend who killed himself. All of these and some family members that were old and died I saw at their funerals.


I also went to my moms anatomy class as a youngster and watched the students disect some cadavers.

wordz said:

I´m not saying you don´t, but do you really honestly feel that way? I know a lot of people who try to tell that to themselves, but deep down they don´t really feel that way.

Vibrator said:

oh yes, with every fiber of my being i feel this. i dont have the common perspective on life or death though. so to me death is beautiful, death is just a part of the process, it is meant to be embraced and to be respected. our own personal issues make us feel differently regarding this issue though, like our inabilty to let go of the person we miss. that is just our selfish perspective, and earthly humaness that longs for the person that has moved on. i dont want to dismiss anybodys personal experience here but my truth is my truth and i have long ago made friends with death.

Morbid subject but yes, you get to see 100s when you've worked in a hospital.. morgue/trauma center/ or oncology wing...

Worst one I ever saw was a fire victim, eyelids burnt right off.

Last year, or maybe earlier this year, I saw this news video of a real scary looking dead guy dangling a baby from a hotel balcony.

Talk about creepy.

Yes.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Oh sweetie...

yes...family members...and pictures (evidence) of murder victims in court (I was covering the court cases as a reporter.)