la cloche sur le cercueil

"the bell on the coffin"

as i was reading the book "thre gr8 train robbery"(i've lamost completed it..review in a day or two), there was this very peculiar subject that mr crichton broached upon. the novel is based upon the victorian era of the english. when ppl died they were put in a coffin. that is a regular practice. once a 10 year old boy suffered this same tragic fate. ppl assumed he was dead for almst four days. so on the day of his burial at the cemetary, his guardian after putting the first fist of dirt on the coffin got the shock of their life when they could hear the boy shout"why ar eyou burying me?". the health care in those days wasnt the best and doctors assumed he was dead since he dint move for 4 days. but he was in a state of coma ofr those days.
this created quote a wildfire as ppl went back to the cemetary to chekc on thier loved ones..though they were 9 feet under..(or is 8 feet under?).
so a new invention by the ever-so-clever anglias was to put a bell on the outside of the coffin attached to the body inside. so that ever the slightest movement would trigger the bell and cz an alarm. this was a fad and the inventor made a lot of money within london itself.
a slight varaiation of this device was a tube through the coffin for the mortally-challeged to speak through. servants of the rich were made to sit at the cemetary waiting for the buried to speak for a period of almost a month after the death.
the return of the loved one...
the things ppl do for that one last word or sentence...
is life worth it..the agonizing pain..the denial..the suffering...
you betcha....it definately is...though i can't speak from personal experience....
take care and think about this next time you ring a bell
{ding dong}