Today, my neighbor died suddenly of a heart attack. Although not too close to him, I just found it weird that yesterday I talked to him, today that's impossible. This is really my first experience with death at an age that I can comprehend what the severity of the situation is, and I have to say how weird I find it. He lived with his brother at a similar age that he was (mid 60's) and their parents who are in their late 80s early 90s. Not anything you probably care about, I just think that it's weird seeing someone occasionally from the age of 5 then, not.

How old are you?

young enough not to disclose an actual age mid-teenage years

This is something that most of us go thru. Seeing people we know, or our best friends, die. It's really a female dog when they are in "perfect health" (or at least they look that way) and then just drop dead. Tiggerkim, I wish I could say it gets easier but it never does. I still walk around in shock when someone I know passes suddenly. What you are going thru is normal. At my age when a friend dies, after the shock I realize I could be next.

I'm just glad if this happened to me this late in life, that it wasn't someone too close like a family member. My dad's actually died a number of times due to a few heart attacks on a number of occasions then been defibrillated back to life, but I was really too young to get it at that point.

I don't think he was making a joke. And your post could seem very offensive to some given that you suggested he did.

Teenagers: The new senior citizens.

most Most people I have heard of have had some experience with death after the age of 7 and before my age, I never really had a "I knew this person well, now he's dead" type thing.

DEATH ..hmmm at 67 and 3 heart attacts already under my belt its not something I dwell on,but I sure don't buy green bananas anymore...

And being a member of the Americian Atheist its no big thing.I'm all signed up to head off to the body farm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm
Don

this being a completely speculative question, but as an atheist, do you fear death or life ending to any degree?

No more or no less than anybody else.I would like to put it off for as long as possible.I don't understand why christians fear death with all this heaven and utopia talk they all seem to believe in.

I like that old line "here lies an atheist...all dressed up and no place to go" hahaha

here's another hypocrisy I look at in the Catholic church (although not an atheist). Some people, including Christians, choose to be cremated. So you spend your entire life trying to avoid burning in edited, but then your body is put in a giant fiery oven. Seems kind of fishy to me.

Penn Jillette sums up my feelings on the matter here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9JWdJs55Q

As you atheists are all on the same team, let me let you in on something being a Christian, something you do not know about us. We do not fear death, however, most of us do not want to force it to come any quicker than any other person, Christian or not.

And as for the cremation thing, that's their body being burnt, not our soul. Even if you don't believe what we believe, at least understand the difference so at least it makes sense (even if you don't believe). Body is Earthly, soul is spiritual. Make sense?

I can see this going well.