X-Message-Number: 845
From: Kevin Q. Brown
Subject: Another Cryonics Holiday 
Date: 22 May 1992

Messages #678 and #679 suggested that cryonicists have a holiday,
called LifeDay, each anniversary of the freezing of Dr. James Bedford
(the first man cryonically suspended).  Cryonicists may have use for
other holidays, too.  Rather than fill our already-busy calendars with
yet another holiday, though, we can co-opt existing holidays instead!
This coming Monday (May 25) we will have an opportunity to do exactly that.
In the USA, this Monday is Memorial Day, our annual celebration of dead
people.  But perhaps cryonicists can think of something more positive.
Here is my idea on that...

The Nov. 1990 issue of Cryonics magazine included Mike Darwin's article
titled "Communicating With Suspension Patients".  He pointed out that,
to the extent that cryonics is successful, those suspension patients will
be coming back and wondering what happened while they were metabolically
disadvantaged.  They will be wondering about not just the "big" things that
one can read in any history book, but what happened to friends, family,
and associates.  The personal things.  He suggested that cryonicists who
have friends or loved ones in suspension write letters to them or record
videos for them.  Such "little things" will be much appreciated by them
upon reanimation.

Furthermore, as I suggested in the Letters to the Editors section of the
Jan. 1991 issue of Cryonics, we also have a purely selfish reason for
doing this apparently altruistic act:

    Our actions speak (much louder than words, of course) not only to
    others but also to ourselves, often at a subconscious level.  If
    we do NOT treat a friend or loved one in suspension as a patient
    (ie. do not communicate with him or her) then the message of our
    (in)action to our subconscious is:
      "this is a dead person whom we can forget about because he
      (or she) isn't coming back."
    The sorry consequence is that then we are just fooling ourselves
    when we talk about how cryonics can work; we are just playing
    "let's pretend that cryonics can work even though, deep down, we
    do not really believe it."  Thus, for our own sakes, when we have a
    friend or loved one in suspension, we will want to treat that person
    as we do a sick friend or loved one in a hospital, which means that we
    communicate with him or her.  To not do so would be a breach of our
    integrity.

Does this give you any ideas for something useful to do on Monday?  Also,
should we have a new cryonics-related name for our co-opted Memorial Day?
The name "Send-A-Letter-To-A-Friend-In-Suspension-Day" is too long and
awkward.  Comments?  Suggestions?
                              Kevin Q. Brown
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