Although we all understand rationally that death is an inevitable event, you believe that it is still a surprising event for people. Why is that? I'll start with you, Benyamin.
R. BENYAMIN CIRLIN, CSW: I think most people tend to live with what some writers have called an "illusion of invulnerability." We like to live with the sense that we're going to go on forever, because the truth of the matter is to come to terms with the fact that we're going to die creates a lot of anxiety. It's more easy to live and to go on expecting that you're just going to go on forever. We all believe that if we behave correctly, that if we walk on the right side of the street, everything's going to be all right, until some time we walk across on that green light and then someone goes through a red light, and then death enters the picture.
LISA CLARK: Exactly. If I may oversimplify just a bit, there are two courses death might take: either an accident, as you refer to, a sudden catastrophic event -- a heart attack, say -- or a lengthy process, a terminal illness or the aging process. From the point of view of a family member or friend, is one of those easier to deal with than the other? I'll ask you, Patricia .
