Mind... Blown

The Blog comes from a long line of long living people.

My maternal Grandmother (aka "Nanny") was in her 90s when she shuffled off that mortal coil, in spite of the fact that she smoked and enjoyed a cocktail or three every night for most of her adult life.

My maternal Grandfather held a rather peripheral space in my life, for reasons that are not relevant to this post, so I don't remember how old he was when he passed, but he must have been well into his 80s.

My parents are in their early 80s and showing little sign of slowing down.

(Knock on cyber-wood.)

My paternal Grandma was somewhere around 90 when she passed.

And my paternal Grandpa, well, he didn't quite make it to 100, but 100 was in his sights when he died. And, much like Nanny, smoked since his teens and consumed beer in an almost ritualistic way. (One beer with dinner every weeknight. One beer at lunch, another at dinner, on weekends.)

His sister, The Blog's great-aunt Marie, (who, as The PC mentioned in an earlier post, made the best damned chicken and dumpling dinner, anywhere. And, in her old age, used to send her grandson out to buy the latest copy of Playboy magazine so she could see The PC's work,) lived to see her 103rd birthday.

(FYI... Hallmark stops making age specific birthday cards at 100-years-old. This needs to be addressed.)

So your Old Uncle PC, at the age of 53, expects that he has only lived about half of his life.

(Given The PC's general aches and pains at 53, he views another 50 years with some trepidation.)

But that doesn't make today's news any less mind blowing.

And "mind blowing" is the operative word, here.

Dr. Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who, somewhat accidentally, invented LSD, then used himself as his test subject, died today, of a heart attack, at the age of 102!

I will say that again...

The original acid tripper lived to the age of 102!!!



Died from natural causes!

And, again...

Mind.

Blown.

Wired.com posted this fascinating story today.

Dr. Hofmann was Swiss.

The Blog's paternal ancestry is Swiss.

There may be something there.

The Blog has never been tempted to use hallucinogenics.

Maybe those anti-drug films he saw in the fifth grade worked.

More likely, The PC is just too much of a control freak to ever willingly turn over that much of his perception to hallucination.

I'll stick with laser shows and trippy movies. (Preferably in 3D.)

The Blog proposes a toast to Dr. Hofmann.

If there is something on the other side, I hope that it is an eternal best trip ever.