The Grim Reaper and This Mortal Coil, March 3, 2015

In the end it is not

the years in your life that count,

but the life in your years. 

~Abraham Lincoln

Happy Birthday to my niece Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc, oldest first born daughter of my brother Gary Shepard of Oak Harbor, Washington, and oldest first born grandaughter of Maida Gower Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. Kerri lives in Weatherford, Texas and became a grandmother for the second time last fall with the birth of Karver Bearden of Weatherford. The year before her first granddaughter Kambree Bowman was born.

The following picture shows birthday girl Kerri in the middle, with her daughter and grandson Lyndsey and Karver Bearden on the left, and her daughter and granddaughter Mandi and Kambree Bowman on the right. Happy Birthday to Kerri!

I have mentioned a number of times that this blog is not only concerned with genealogical matters, it also celebrates our ongoing family. Which is to say its focus is not only on those who have died, but also on those of us who still count ourselves among the living. With that sobering thought in mind, I am including today the following article. Originally found in the Washington Post, it seems appropriate for us and is offered for your edification, amusement or enlightenment, whichever fits you best. And besides, when was the last time you read about "this mortal coil"? 

Does The Grim Reaper Have Favorite Days?

Want to live longer? Maybe you should take extra care on your birthday and the days you get paid. On the website for Men’s Health magazine, Markham Heid assembles information from various studies that show days (or times of day) when you are more likely to shuffle off this mortal coil.

Your chances are 25 percent higher of dying on your birthday than the average day of the year, says economist Pablo Pe, author of one of those studies, who says “risky behaviors” involving alcohol, driving and stress are probably the cause. For similar reasons, chances of dying also jump — though to a lesser degree — on the two big holidays, Christmas and New Year’s, according to a different study.

“More mystifying: Rates of death for all sorts of common diseases — from cancer to cardiovascular disease — also swell on the first day of the year,” Heid writes.
Several studies, including one from the University of Maryland, find that you are more likely to die soon after you get your paycheck. Again, increases in drinking and driving appear to be the cause.

As for the most lethal hour, Heid doesn’t really explain why — but if you’re reading this after 11 a.m., you’ve made it through the most dangerous time of day. Relax.

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Steve Shepard