We Are Next—Whether We Like It or Not

By Alex P. Vidal  

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” —Mark Twain

IT so happened that the person who recently passed away in the Vatican was the Pope; it so happened that the three famous persons who died one after another in Manila (Pilita, Nora, Hajji) were celebrity entertainers in the Philippines.

Many of us once again questioned man’s mortality because of these successive deaths in the news that came before and after the recent Holy Week.

Due to a combination of biological processes and the natural cycle of life, all living things, including humans, must eventually die. We can’t stay on Earth forever.

In fact, the phrase “death comes like a thief in the night” is a metaphorical way of saying that death is unexpected and can happen at any time.

It’s a reminder to make the most of each day and not to procrastinate.

Whether we like it or not, we are next. We just don’t know when and where, except our Creator—if we believe in God. Let’s always remember that man, the physical being, doesn’t have immortality.

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The loss of a loved one has always been life’s most stressful event and can cause a major emotional crisis. After the death of someone we love, we experience bereavement, which literally means “to be deprived by death.”

When a death takes place, we may experience a wide range of emotions, even when the death is expected.

Many people report feeling an initial stage of numbness after first learning of a death, but there is no real order to the grieving process. Some emotions you may experience include: denial, disbelief, confusion, shock, sadness, yearning, anger, humiliation, despair, guilt.

These feelings are normal and common reactions to loss, acording to Mental Health America.

“You may not be prepared for the intensity and duration of your emotions or how swiftly your moods may change. You may even begin to doubt the stability of your mental health,” MHA explains. But be assured that these feelings are healthy and appropriate and will help us come to terms with our loss.

It takes time to fully absorb the impact of a major loss. We never stop missing our loved ones, but the pain eases after time and allows us to go on with our lives.

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All of us healthcare workers in the United States have been required to undergo fingerprinting or we won’t get to start any employment and even lose our jobs.

I did mine on March 29, 2025 as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), phlebotomist, EKG technician, and Home Health Aide (HHA) practitioner in the New York State.

In fact, it was reported immediately after the pandemic that health care workers across the United States who were hired during the pandemic must be terminated if they aren’t fingerprinted for state-mandated background checks before July 20, 2021, the Connecticut Department of Public Health has warned in urgent memos sent to nursing homes, home health agencies, chronic disease hospitals and other health care entities.

An estimated 7,500 people were hired between March 23, 2020 and May 19, 2021 when then Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order suspending the required fingerprint checks to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

More than 3,000 of the 7,500 workers have been fingerprinted based on the July 2021 report, said Christopher Boyle, a spokesperson for the department. The department was not able to say how many of the estimated remaining 4,500 were still employed in long-term care and how many employees still need to be fingerprinted.

“When these workers were hired, they passed a background check and other verification processes but were specifically told not to submit their fingerprints due to the pandemic,” wrote union President Rob Baril in a letter sent to the acting commissioner and the chief of the Healthcare Quality and Safety Branch at the health department.

He warned that terminating the employees would negatively impact the care in nursing homes, which have been facing staffing shortages, and called the requirement “disrespectful” to the sacrifices workers have made in the past year.

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BEWARE THE DEADLIEST NATURAL TOXIN. Botulinal toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, is the most potent poison for humans. It has an estimated lethal dose in the bloodstream of 10-9 milligrams per kilogram. Death occurs when the respiratory muscles are paralyzed.

TO ALL LOVERS OF CIGARETTE. Cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and nicotine are some of the major components, with lesser amounts of acetone, acetylene, formaldehyde, propane, hydrogine cyanide, toluene, and many others.

SAFE DRIVERS. Women drive and cross the street more safely than men. Men account for 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities since 1980. Between the ages 18 and 45, males outnumber females as fatal crash victims by almost three to one according to the Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Feel like you aged overnight? A recent study suggests we may not age gradually. Instead, it happens in two significant “bursts”: once in our mid-40s, then again in our early 60s. These key moments could explain the sudden appearance of wrinkles, sagging skin, gray hair, muscle and joint pain, and increased vulnerability to viral infections, according to National Geographic Health.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)