Just when you thought it was all over

Just when I thought the tragedy of my American friend was finished with his inevitable death, it all suddenly took a turn for the worse, for, upon his death, no family member or responsible person would come forward to pay the medical bill.  This meant that the hospital put into effect its policy for such circumstances.  So it is now withholding the body until all is paid in full.  It is only with payment that a death certificate will be issued.  I discover that this is regular practice here in such cases.

As I face this new development in the saga of my friend's demise, I do recognize the justice of paying the bill.  I surely do identify that his family has an obligation to pay, if for no other reason than to respect our Christian to bury the dead, and,in this case, their own member.  Having said this, for such an institution to seek its just payment in this way strikes me as being official blackmail with the bargaining chip being a human body.  It just seems so mercenary, so blood thirsty to reduce our humanity to bland business transactions.

I want to say to all sides - Stop it!  Stop playing God!  The guy is dead.  Let's do what we need to do.  Pay respect to the dead and get over whatever it is troubling us and move on.  Show the guy some decency, no matter what he did in life.

Then this picture of a vase of daffodils on a widow ledge was sent to me by a good and caring friend from his home in London.  His sharing of beauty reminds me of the resurrection, an apt image for this moment.  Moreover, it is an image of the resurrection in the midst of our everyday life.

My American friend is with God.  He is at peace.  That is all that matters.  This is the true end.  I accept this and feel right at home with this outcome.  The rest of the players in this drama can continue seeking their own wanted ending, playing games with a person. 

What can I do?  Accept and feel at home as the focal player is now at his rightful end.  Control never works, while business is ever the call of the day in my Bangkok.  Despite all this, the end is with God and in her hands. 

R.I.P. Kelly.