Not to burst anyone’s bubble or anything, but I was reading an article recently about a number of senior citizens who have committed suicide or “murder’”in the last couple of months.

It’s an issue that really doesn’t get a lot of press or that many people ever really think about.

You hear about it one day, and by the next day it’s forgotten.

Another “crazy old person” taking care of business.

It is a sad situation when it comes to that for some people, and not surprisingly, it happens more often than people think.

One 60-year-old gal dressed herself in some new white pajamas, put a pillow case over her head, and shot herself.

She, at least, had some wits about her as she obviously didn’t want anyone to have to clean up her mess.

Another gal was 86 and had been showing signs of dementia.

Her loyal husband finally decided it was time for her to go into a nursing home when she could no longer walk, feed herself, or recognize close relatives.

He would go to visit her, often up to three times a day.

One day he just decided he couldn’t take it any more. He was having a difficult time seeing his wife failing in that way.

He went to visit her, and put a bullet in her head.

He is being charged with murder, and it’s devastating for the whole family. They all understood what he was going through and none of them seem opposed to the drastic measures he had taken.

Is it something the wife would have wanted? Possibly.

Not an easy thing to.

Was he putting her out of her misery, or himself?

Would you be able to pull the plug on someone or put a bullet in them if you knew that they would never again enjoy the quality of life they once had? I’m not saying it is applicable in every case, but sometimes it seems like there comes a point when you see no other way, especially if it’s a situation like Alzheimer’s or a terminal illness.

One 80-year-old man overdosed on prescription medication after cutting and stabbing himself multiple times.

Days before he committed suicide, he’d been depressed about losing his vision and was having flashbacks from his days in a Nazi prison camp.
I think that would make me want to do myself in, too.

An 84 year-old man had always joked with friends about committing suicide to end his pain. Eventually, that is just what he did.

A 77-year-old man fatally shot his wife of nearly 50 years in the bathroom of their home, and then turned the gun on himself.

“Can’t live with her, can’t live without her”.

An 84-year-old man leaped to his death from a nearby 14-story tower a few days later. That one to me was just flabbergasting. I would never think to leap off a building.

One of the neighbors, who is 86, said she understands what is happening. She watched as dementia took away her husband’s vibrant personality.

He went from being lively and fun loving to angry and confused.

One of their favorite activities was to go dancing, but that had to end because he would always get jealous and start ranting. As the dementia set in, he began to wander away from home.

She eventually had to put him in a nursing home. She visited him every day, even though he often didn’t recognize her. Often times, he wouldn’t even look at her.

She said she grew to resent him.

“His whole personality changed,” she said, “he wasn’t my husband anymore.”

With his mental decline, she could grasp what might drive an elderly spouse to shoot a partner or that might push someone to suicide.

“Who knows if I had a gun if I would have shot him or shot myself?” she wondered.

I have a big note on the fridge that if I get dementia or Alzheimer’s or a terminal illness, find me some pills and put the pillow over my head. I don’t care how it’s done really, I just don’t want anyone to have to put up with me being incapacitated for any length of time. That old saying, “I don’t want to be a burden?” Well, I really don’t.

I think it’s sad that Dr. Kevorkian can’t help people out anymore with his suicide machine. Some folks would rather go that way in their own homes than be stuck in a nursing home or have to suffer for years with a terminal illness.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this very unpopular way of thinking, but I believe that people should have the right to go if they want to go.

Let’s just hope I don’t go by having hundreds of birds fall out of the sky onto my head. Or a senior leaping off a multi-storied building and making me the crash pad.

Not cool.