He made my world turn, now, I want to get off HAL FLEW U.S. Army Air Force Liberator bombers in the biggest of ali the wars and the fact that he lived while many friends died had a profound effect upon him. Paul st. Pierre PAULITICS & PERSPECTIVES Every day for the rest of his life was a bonus day, an unexpected treat, some kind of a prize, some gift of the God in which he never believed. He spent a few of the years after the war making money, something that Americans are often good at, but what set him ‘apart from other prosperous resi- dents of Arizona retirement colo- nies were his projects. Every year he had one and it was worth the drive to Arizona to behold it. One year it was the Great Ig- uana Ambush. An iguana had chewed up Hal’s hibiscus flowers and he reacted with the simple but strange determination that most of us leave behind with our childhood. He sat in his yard knitting (a simultaneous project) with a .44 Colt revolver ir his lap and a str- ing tied from his toe to the hibiscus. When the iguana gnawed on the plant, Hal’s toe would twitch and his revolver would roar. He never fired the gun. Like so many projects, it was futile as well as funny. Hal was celebrating be- ing alive, not cerebrating about it. Of the Great Iguana Hunt his wife Sue said ‘‘Let him be, he is happier than if he were in his right mind.’* Another year, Hal discovered an old plastic sewer line underly- ing his lawn. He dug it all up, sawed it into short iengths and with the aid of a Black and Decker drill, he poked holes in the sewers pipe in the shape of sea horses. They were to be patio lights. No patio in Arizona is today lit with sewer pipe lights. It doesn’t matter. It was a Project. Absurd, except perhaps to those who remember being scared witless by flak and Focke Wulfe fighters. Last year I said ‘““What’s the project this year, Hal?” and he said ‘My death.”’ He was as healthy as most peo- ple in their °70s and more so than many in their °40s and ’50s, being given to a lot of bicycle riding and no heavy drinking. No matter, he and Sue had made their wills and Hal said he had arranged his death. “do not plan to see my 76th birthday.”* . With the intensity he accorded KURT’S CLOCK REPAIR Specialized in resioring Antique Watches & Clocks 103-2433 Bellevue Ave. West Vancouver 922-7593 io all his projects, he described his method. Those who remember decompression chambers in Se- cond World War Initial Training Schools will know it. Details aren't needed here, particularly since it is a risky method of suicide that may leave you alive but hopelessly brain-damaged. Of course there was no arguing with Hal. He had known both life and death and wanted no instruc- tion from 60-year-old kids. A few weeks later, his affairs were taken over by Fate, God, The Great Universal One Horned Toad or whoever it is. From abundant health and good cheer he hurtled into sudden decay which ended when Sue walked in- to an Arizona hospital room, saw him full of the tubes of life sup- port systems and said ‘*Take all those things out of him.’’ After she wrote to her friends. “*The Hemlock Society believes that one has to have a terminal illness to justify suicide. However lately there have been a few of us who believed we had the right to _ actively terminate our lives at the time we would no longer be able to do the things we wanted to do. Long-Term Care Aide Program Friday, May 17, 1991 - North Shore News - 9 “Haland Eset atime. We felt it was important to go when we both enjoyed life, even if we missed one or (wo good years. We planned to do this together. “The oniy mistake we made was to set our time three years down the road. We should have done it at 70. **Now, at almost 72, J am feft alone and I realize that 1 feel just as I did before. | have no desire to live a lonely and empty life without Hal. He made my world turn. Now [ want to get off. **So don't be distressed if you get word of my going. I want it this way. ! have had 49 years of the best possible life. We did most everything we wanted to do and living with Hal was a wonderful and joyous experience. lt was never dull. I see no reason to sct- tle for a lonely life with a slow deterioration of mind and body.”’ Last Saturday Sue died, peace- Tully, by her own hand in her quiet house on a sun-burnished desert sidehill, far in time and space from the bomber raids over Europe. We tell ourselves not to grieve for her. What else is there to say? Pp a oe Information Meeting Tuesday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. Room H-204 Qualified graduates of this 15-week program work as aides with long-term care clients in extended, intermediate, and personal care residences. Courses combine theory and practice in supervised classroom and clinical settings. * All students interested in the Fall 1991 program must attend this information meeting. Call 984-4947 for details. CAPILANG COLLEGE 2055 Purcell Way « North Vancouver ¢ B.C. \ North Vancouver 101 ~—- 1112 Lonsdale 986-4321 986-4893 66 Fm Mike O'Connor and I can help you with that. So can other insurance agencies, but at NorCu we can offer you something different — we're affiliated with North Shore Credit Union. That means we have a high standard of customer service. It also means we're going to be here for the long term, serving you with property insurance, life insurance, auto insurance and more. Speaking of auto insurance, that’s another advantage of our association with the Credit Union — Autoplan financing. $9 101 — 1247 Ross Rd. 986-0351 North Vancouver [c] NORCU INSURANCE ial Lonsdale Quay Ma SERVICES LTD. A Subsidiary of North Shore Credit Union “I need some — “Autoplan insurance.” financing?” 66 Sure — at a competitive interest rate, with a minimum downpayment and administration fee, from _— $200 up to $1,000. You can repay it in either 3 or 6 monthly installments. It's subject to credit approval of course and we can’t finance Autoplan for fleets or some company owned vehicles but other than that, it’s painless. If your Autoplan expires this month, come see us. 99 ’