What a way to die!

Most people will tell you that they'd rather die peacefully, without pain, even in their sleep.  But I'm not so sure.  Since you only die once, maybe you should have a big, flamboyant exit.  Something like James Cagney in White Heat, climbing to the top of the oil refinery and blowing the whole place to kingdom come.  And there was a guy in Hiroshima right below the bomb, and all that was left of him was his shadow on a wall.

As for what to do with my body, I'd prefer cremation.  My only problem with worms is that they work slowly.  And I don't care for getting a little section of land that posterity has to grant sanctity to.  Tibetans and Parsees feed you to the vultures, which is eco-friendly.  In China they have "tree burials," where they cremate you and plant a tree over your ashes.  I think that's what I'd like best:  the idea of a living memorial appeals to me.  And the tree species I'd prefer is oak.

Hair coloring

When I was a teenager, one of my only heroes was Sex Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten, whose hair was a flaming orange.  And I didn't even listen to punk rock that much, I just liked the idea of it. Dare to be negative! (I remember the last episode of The Brady Bunch where Bobby was peddling a shampoo that turned Greg's hair orange.  At least they said it was orange--we only had a black and white TV set back then.)

Beatrice, my choir director, used to dye her hair black, but recently she's let it go gray.  I have a few gray hairs, but if anything I'd rather frost my temples to increase their number.