I thought I had time to play…
This isn’t a story about some pathetic kid who goes terminal and freaks out before learning to live with the certainly of death and squares up all accounts on his deathbed only to have his brother make a million dollars later selling his story to Lifetime. I may be only eighteen, but I’ve been around long enough to know that some accounts don’t get squared. This is a story about a kid who always knew at some core level he was moving on early and, even through the initial terror and disbelief, is going to figure out, come hell or high water (I vote high water), a way to consolidate a life into a year. Before Doc told me, I thought I had time to play, but now this year is my life. I have maybe twelve months to fall in love, marry, make smart investments, grow old, and die. But it’s relative, right? There are insects that pack it all into a day. I was going to do maintenance work on my GPA while reading every book I could get my hands on that would teach me about real life, run my heart out in cross-country, make a few extra bucks from the Hall brothers washing and waxing cars in their showroom at Trout Auto when they needed it, and if I could muster the guts to spend some of that money on Dallas Suzuki, who’s tall enough to slow dance with her chin on my head (and my head in a sweet, softer place), to do just that. I’ve traded in the running for football, increased my reading time exponentially, and… well, brace yourself.
Also, according to Bryson, if you packed the entire history of the earth into one day, life in its most basic form would start around four in the morning, you’d get maybe twenty minutes of dinosaurs around ten thirty at night, and humans would take up about the last minute and seventeen seconds. So if you look at the difference between your life expectancy and mine, which relative to those numbers is so infinitesimal it could be represented by Sooner Cowan’s chemistry grade; and you figure how much of your life you’re going to waste because you don’t know when it ends and how much of mine I’m gonna fill up because I do, we got dealt about the same had which, if you think about it, isn’t exactly an ace-high straight flush.
Extract from the book Deadline
By Chris Crutcher
All Rights Reserved.
N.Y. : Greenwillow Books, 2007
Call Number: Y CRU
Extract submitted by Lynn Koh
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If you were told you only had one year to live, what would you do?
September 16th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
If i only could live for 1 year, I would Watch TV, play computer, read books, eat ice-cream everyday and play with my favourite friends!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
If i could live for one year i will play with my best friend and eat my favorite food and drink. i could play with my brother girlfriend play some games.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
If I only had one year to live I will enjoy myself like travel to another country or play computer games at home. And I will be very sad .
September 16th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
If I only had one more year to live, I would ask my mother for an unlimited supply of money.Afterwards,I will donate maybe $1,500 of my savings,which is $7,853,to charity.Then,I will help out at the old folks home as much as I can.At the end of the year,I’d ask my mother to lay me in a coffin full of different types of gems(however she can get it).Then only,I can R.I.P.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I’d just lie in a dump and let myself rot away………..
September 16th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I’ll just kill myself and that will be the end of me………….END OF STORY.
September 16th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Hey Deoxys, concentrate on the one year left. One can either see a glass half empty or half full – it’s all up to you to be positive or not. Giving back is definitely one thing I’d do. Take care man!
September 17th, 2008 at 10:25 am
seriously.. i wouldn’t know what to do!
there will be so many things that i would want to do…
September 30th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I began to realise how horribly realistic I am – when I think about this question… I would just want to slog it through and earn as much as I can in that one year. Use that sum to pay for own (astronomical) medical bills. Hopefully, there is enoough left for my loved ones who need to be taken care of. Junk out everything else I have – sometimes packing stuff for loved ones who had passed on can be so painful.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
i will live my life to the fullest and bring about joy to everyone anyone possible.when the time comes. my funeral will be a party!
October 18th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Nice Post.Made intresting reading keep up the good work.Bookmarked
October 24th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
i would like to play
October 24th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I began to realise how horribly realistic I am – when I think about this question… I would just want to slog it through and earn as much as I can in that one year. Use that sum to pay for own (astronomical) medical bills. Hopefully, there is enoough left for my loved ones who need to be taken care of. Junk out everything else I have – sometimes packing stuff for loved ones who had passed on can be so painful.
October 27th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Emmmm…..Can I write an essay about my imagination and get a chance to win voucher???
November 1st, 2008 at 10:20 am
I had to put myself into this question so hard until I had almost burst into tears well,I will leave all my sad things behind and start over a new leave to make a happy ending together with my whole family,friends and teachers before its the end.hope i one of the lucky winners!!!
November 4th, 2008 at 9:03 am
If only I have money that would never use finish, than I could help my parents to pay for the every month bill.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
If I had only one year to live, I would appreciate things arund me.I would spent time with my family and friends, so when I die, they will remember the happy that they spent with me.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I would write furiously about all the things I have learnt (ok… and loved too) in the short span of my life and make it into a book for the people I would like to pass it to.
I would also write letters to all the different people who have helped, inspired, shaped me in any way to tell them thank you, that they meant alot to me and that I am really happy to have had the opportunity to have known them.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Interesting article, i have bookmarked your site for future referrence
May 19th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I will do things that can make me enjoy.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
If I only had one year to live , I would live my life to the fullest without wasting a single second.
I would also show more care and concern to my friends and families so that i can bring along the happy memories with me . Lastly , I would also try to amend for any mistake that I have made so that I will not owe anyone a favour .
May 20th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
If I only had one year to live, I would do things that I want to do but doesn’t have the chance to. For example, to travel to places that I like. I would also treasure the left over time with my family and friends. I will try to recall things that I had done and recap all the mermories in my life.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:21 pm
If I were told I only had one year to live, I would enjoy myself and do all the things that I always wanted to do. I will make use of this one year to do all the things like travelling the world and showing care and love to my family members and friends. I will also not owe anyone a favour by paying them back the physical and emotional needs to them.