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If there were a real Fountain of Youth, would you drink the water?

This is a tough question.  My answer depends upon a lot of variables.  Would I be the only one able to drink it or would my loved ones be able to as well?  It would suck to live forever while you outlive your friends and family.  But, as the great Joe Diffie once eloquently said, “Well I ain’t afraid of dying, it’s the though of being dead.  I wanna go on being me after my eulogy’s been read.”

Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)

Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t want to die.  I want to continue to exist so I can experience new things.  I want to read new books.  I want to see new movies.  I want to be around as long as I can so I can see my children grow and become the great men they’re destined to be.

However, this world is going in a direction I’m not sure I want to see.  The human race is just not able to put aside our differences and coexist peacefully.  I don’t know how much longer it will be before somebody gets agitated enough to launch a nuke.  And then, of course, everyone else who has a nuke will launch their nukes and the world will end.

Even if we manage not to nuke ourselves into oblivion, how long will it be before we consume this all of this planet’s natural resources?  We are reproducing at an astrological rate.  The 7 billionth person was just born into this world a few short months ago and the 8 billionth is expected to be born in just a few more years.  Meanwhile, we keep cutting down trees, polluting the oceans, and doing other various misdeeds to our planet’s ecology.

Speaking of our ecology, has anyone ever thought that maybe global warming has nothing to do with pollution, but perhaps instead has everything to do with there being so many damn people on this planet?  Think about it.  Have you ever been in a crowded room and thought, damn, it’s cold in here?  No?  That’s because you’re packed like sardines into a room full of other people whose body temperature is 98.6 degrees.  Perhaps the body heat of 7 billion people is causing global warming.

This is a satellite photo of New York City. At 2AM. When every one is asleep.

But I digress.

I guess, ultimately because I’m selfish, I probably would drink from the fountain.  Many people believe in life after death, but I’m not so sure.  So I’d like to stick around here as long as I can.  Even if I were to outlive my kids I’d still be able to enjoy their kids, and they’re kids’ kids.  And so on.  Until the nuclear holocaust.

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