Immortality is a subject I have long been interested in. As a child, I truely believed I would live forever spurred on by the many unusual occurances in my life. I can recall a time when I was about 8-10 years old and took a job in a Kosher buthershop owned by "Seymor" a laid back type of guy. I swept up, cleaned the buther block and made deliveries to his Jewish customers but was never allowed to touch the meat nor learn to cut it which was perplexing to me. Seymor would always dress in a tan pair of pants and an off colored red polo shirt and bring his "small" brown bag of lunch to the shop. Funny thing is, I never saw him eat as he would close shop and tell me to come back ater lunch. Well years later, as an adult, I went to the water department to pay my overdue bill. I was taken aback because the clerk, standing before me was Seymor!
What was profound about this contact is that Seymor looked exactly the same as I remembered him and was wearing the same/exact clothing as he was when I last worked for him as a child. Mind you, Seymor was in his early 30's when I last saw him those years ago. The man had not aged. I called out his name and asked him if he remembered me but he stated he did not. I even reminded him of the buthcher shop on North 6th street which got a rise out of him for a moment. Seymor took my money for the bill and acted as if I were just another customer. The next month when my bill came, I was determined to go back to the water department and strike up a conversation with him. When I returned, I looked around but he was not there. I asked the clerk who waited on me where he was and gave a description....She stated he no longer worked there as he quit. From that day forward, I knew there was something different about him and in my mind determined he was an Immortal. This is a true experience.....
This leads me to post a link to the article named in the subject line. Perhaps you too have had contact with an Imortal and do not know it...I have and on more than one instance. So you see, I believe there are a group of people who are Immortal. As to why I believed in such a thing as a child, I cannot explain that to you except to say I knew of certain things long before they became mainstream.
"Immortality has been something man has searched for. We all know something about the story of Ponce De Leon and the search for the Fountain of Youth. In modern times the desire to drive back the attack of aging is largely the domain of the plastic surgeons. However, there is reason to suspect that aging can be defeated and in some cases may have already been defeated."
Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:57 pm
Newbs Moderator
Joined: Jul 03, 2007
Posts: 2101
Location: slightly off the wall
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:33 pm
Really intersting read , thanks Mensa...Have you ever read any Anna Rice Vampire Novels? Theyre fiction of course , but are a very interesting spin on the concept of how being immortal may make you behave , act , feel etc.
There are many stories of vampires , but these really grab me as they kinda address what it would feel like to be immortal
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Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:33 pm
Crazyeugene Pyramid Level I
Joined: Feb 08, 2008
Posts: 84
Location: Sonora
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:32 pm
It's unfortunate that children aren't the type to pay close attention and doccument things, since a lot of crazy/magical things happen more often to them than to adults.
Immortality as in living indefinately or immortality as in unable to be killed? The two are very different things, some say a vegetarian eating a proper diet can live indefinately.
The Jews are... a magical people to say the least, I know this isn't politically correct or appropriate to say, but this is part of what caused a lot of confusion from the middle ages onward, that they have a very different religion/rituals from the Christians, that the Christians didn't/don't understand, despite the fact that half of their holy scripture is Jewish. A lot of western occult is grown or influenced by the Qabbalah.. it wouldn't surprise me if your old boss had truly not aged at all, but don't take my word for it, do your own research on the subject and keep an open mind, it may shock you.
_________________ Quoting a smart person will only make you appear smart. - Me
Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:32 pm
mensa517 Keeper of the Plateau
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 310
Location: above
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:30 pm
Newbs: No I have not had the opportunity read her books but have heard they are very good. I may grab one as an end of the summer reading. Thanks
Crazyeugene: I was talking about living indefinately. I'm teling you, this guy did not age at all and it stuck out like a sore thumb. It was amazing that's why I went back... Thanks for the reply.
Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:30 pm
IlluminatusRex Prodigy
Joined: Dec 09, 2005
Posts: 1168
Location: Kemet
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:12 pm
Being long-lived or youthful-looking is quite a ways from being immortal though. For perspective, I used to know these two sisters at work from Africa. One of them was just a teenager while the other looked to be late 20s or so. Anyway, one of our co-workers had to drive them home one night and saw their house and that they lived by themselves. He asked if their parents had bought the house for them and they started laughing. It turns out that they weren't sisters but mother and daughter. The "teenaged sister" was actually 40 years old and the "older sister" was over 60. But apparently their diet was so natural that they didn't age like those of us growing up on McDonald's. So a person not visually aging over a few years isn't all that unusual.
Having said that though, we theoretically should be immortal. Cells self-regenerate so in theory we should never age past our prime so long as we continue to consume energy. There is something that makes us grow old and die. What, we don't know. But I've long felt that immortality is conceivably possible. It's presumably a genetic code that programs when cellular regeneration will slow. If that's the case, then immortality would simply be a matter of flipping off this switch.
Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:12 pm
Dalia Holder of Wisdom
Joined: Jan 20, 2008
Posts: 417
Location: Oz
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:55 am
I was a big fan of the "Highlander" series and movies. I often wondered if it was real, if there was a society of Immortals and Watchers out there. There has been many stores and folklore on this subject. My favorite was "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt about a family that finds the fountain of youth. All of these stories carry a common theme, that it is more a curse than a blessing. I know when my Grandma reached the end of her life, she was ready to go, she had lost family and friends and was aching to rejion them.
_________________ Formerly known as Dagobert 2
Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:55 am
IlluminatusRex Prodigy
Joined: Dec 09, 2005
Posts: 1168
Location: Kemet
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:42 am
I didn't watch the Highlander series but one episode I saw always disturbed me. It was an episode where one of the Highlanders trapped another in this abandoned cell. I think it was an underground bomb shelter or something. The horrible catch being that since he was immortal, he would never die and be stuck in that empty little cage indefinitely. Just staring at the walls for decade after decade if not century after century. I always thought that was just about the cruelest act I'd ever seen depicted.
But I don't think such immortality is feazible. You should always be capable of being killed even if you figure out how to stop aging.
Last edited by IlluminatusRex on Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:43 am; edited 1 time in total
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