Enduring Beauty

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  “Beauty is the quality which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces, for twenty years together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; and, I suppose, it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a century. Let an artist scrawl a few lines or figures on the back of a letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in portfolio, is framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries. Burns writes a copy of verses, and sends them to a newspaper, and the human race take charge of them that they shall not perish.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882).   Essays and English Traits.

Dying with Courage

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(indulge me on this one, ok?)

Dying With Courage
A personal tribute to Tom Brazaitis, a husband who endured his final days with a clarity of mind and spirit.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Eleanor Clift
Contributing Editor
Newsweek
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET April 1, 2005

April 1 - While the country watched Terri Schiavo, I watched my husband. He was in a hospital bed in our living room battling the ravages of kidney cancer that had spread to his bones and his brain. As I wrote about and commented on the Schiavo situation, I kept quiet about the end of life process I was overseeing in our home for the person I have been closest to for more than 20 years.

(link)

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