Sunday, July 30, 2006

The man who wouldn't die

Back in March I posted an article, Art Buchwald is dying. It told of his diabetes and leg amputation, kidney failure and his refusal of dialysis. He went into a hospice to die.

Except he didn't. Somehow his kidneys worked enough to keep him going. He held court in his hospice room, entertaining visitors, waiting for the end that didn't come. He resumed his column in the Washington Post.

Earlier this month Buchwald left the hospice for his beloved summer home on Martha's Vineyard. He's still holding court, still planning his funeral. But he stopped writing the column, so he can work on a book about his stay in the hospice, Too Soon to Say Goodbye. It's due in September, and it sounds like he might just be able to finish it. I really hope he does.

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