Famous Last Words

I’ve always wanted my epitaph to read:

“nobody ever died saying they should have worked more”.

I picked my epitaph because I’ve always been fond of this saying. My father taught me this early in my life, a valuable lesson that work should never take over your life and you must carve out time for the pleasures of life. He also taught me about “mental health days”. A good guy my dad is, full of useful wisdom.

Yet I’ve never thought of my last words. I guess because they need context. You can’t really pick them when you’re young, wouldn’t work. “Party on dude” whilst driving like a maniac at age 16 would certainly not be a memorable set. Likewise, you can’t really plan around the context of your future death. This is why I find the following quotes interesting.

Famous Last Words

George Washington "Tis well."

Teddy Roosevelt "Please put out the light."

John Kennedy "That's very obvious."

Saint Lawrence The Perseids Meteors, seen around August 12 of each year, are also called the "Tears of Saint Lawrence" after a martyred Christian deacon whom the Romans burned to death on an outdoor iron stove in A.D. 258. Before dying, he was said to have cried out: "I am already roasted on one side. If thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other."

George Reeves "I'm tired. I'm going back to bed." George Reeves was an American actor most famous for playing Superman on the classic 1950's television series. Although Reeves had been a respected actor for years (one of his first important roles was as one of the Tarlton twins in Gone With the Wind), he became so typecast in his Superman role that he couldn't find work after the series ended in 1957. Late one night while he was living with his finance and another friend, two other friends came to visit. Reeves became angry that he had been awakened and announced that he was going back to bed. He went back upstairs to his bedroom and shot himself in the head with a 30 caliber luger.

Eastman, George "My work is done, why wait?" George Eastman, the American inventor. At the age of 77 and plagued by a painfully debilitating spinal disease, Eastman put his affairs in order, wrote a note, and committed suicide.

Sitting Bull "I am not going. Do with me what you like. I am not going. Come on! Come on! Take action! Let's go!" Sitting Bull, a Sioux chief, is most famous for his role in defeating Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. On 15 December 1890, about forty Native American members of the Indian Constabulary surrounded Sitting Bull's cabin and attempted to arrest him. When Sitting Bull refused to leave with the police, a crowd of angry supporters gathered around him. One of them, Catch the Bear, pulled a gun and shot the senior officer, Lieutenant Henry Bull Head. As Bull Head fell, he fired once and hit Sitting Bull in the side. A close quarters fire fight immediately broke out, and by the time it ended fourteen men--six of whom were police officers--had died.

Guevara, Ernesto "Che" "I know you have come to kill me. Shoot, coward. You are only going to kill a man."

Hilton, Conrad N. "Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub." On his deathbed just before he died, Hilton was asked if he had any last words of wisdom for the world.

Bruce, Lenny (Leonard Schneider) "Do you know where I can get any shit?" Lenny Bruce was the original obscene comedian. A heavy drug user, Lenny Bruce was found naked and dead of an overdose on his bathroom floor with a hypodermic needle stuck in his right arm.