ned to prove who could be the king's personal court jester. After hoards of laughter, the contest came down to two men. One, a very care free and jovial man, and the other, a knight from the king's calvary. In the end, the jovial man beat the knight and became the court jester. The knight, embittered, vowed to take revenge against the court jester. He planned and he connived until he could not think any longer, and he came up with a plan. He plot to put poison into the king's water and blame the court jester. When the moment arrived, he stoutly stopped the king from drinking the water and gave it to a dog at the table. The dog dropped immediately. He then claimed that he saw the court jester put poison into the cup. The king, enraged, proclaimed the immediate beheading of the court jester. Fortunately, his sense returned and he told the court jester, "You have given me many years of great service. Although you now make me sad, I cannot forget the times you have made me laugh. Therefore, I allow you the option to choose your method of death." The court jester, sad for himself and the king, began to ponder his method of death. The entire hall stood still as the seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned to hours. Finally, the court jester slowly looked into the eyes of his king and said, "My dear king, though it kills me to have you think I have plotted against you, I am grateful that you have the kindness to choose my own death. Therefore, sire, I wish to die of old age."
             So you can imagine how I thought about this man afterwards. He knew he was going to die, yet he was absolutely resolute that if he was, he was going to die with some dignity. I've often asked myself if there is a good way to die. Well, maybe I'm stretching the truth for its dramatic sake, but when I really think about the issue, I really do want to die in a peaceful, serene setting. I don't want to be plagued b...