Death and Fairy Tales

There's a very breezy story coming out of Kenner, La., of a dying man's deathbed prediction of his 57-year-old son's lottery win and the $1.8 million prize that followed about two months later. Ah, the fairy tale.

Simple and nice. Not at all like the usual complications of a father's final days more likely to be spent deciding whether or not to "engage in heroic measures" when his heart stops pushing him into the pain his life has become; or watching the dad who beat you and loved you — and both to help you overcome a crippled body with a fiercely strong mind — die of a heart attack when you surprised him while he was engaged with his mistress; or of dealing with having brought a son into the world when your father and grandfather both suffered from the hereditary Motor Neuron Disease that is about to claim your life.

Of course, even in the fairy tale death tale there is death, so maybe it's not really not such a fairy tale after all.