An elderly man lay dying in his bed.
While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly
smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip
cookies wafting up the stairs.
He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself
from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made
his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater
effort, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled
downstairs.
With labored breath, he leaned against the door-frame,
gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's
agony, he would have thought himself already in
heaven, for there, spread out upon waxed paper on the
kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite
chocolate chip cookies.
Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love
from his devoted wife of sixty years, seeing to
it that he left this world a happy man?
Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself
towards the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled
posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste
of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly
bringing him back to life. The aged and withered hand
trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of the
table, when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by
his wife......
"Back off!" she said, "They're for the funeral."
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