The Death Clock By Ewologhene Marioghae

On one of my nightly rituals of browsing the internet after a busy day at work, I stumbled upon something called “The death Clock”. I opened the page and was greeted by the message “Welcome to the Death Clock, the internet's friendly reminder that life is slipping away... second by second”. I paused as I contemplated keying in my details in order to check the accuracy of the clock or to leave the site. What actually was running through my mind was why anyone would create such a webpage and how many people would even take it seriously. Out of curiousity, I keyed them in and the result was that I had 46 years to live, and my precious seconds were already ticking away, reducing as I stared at the screen! I simply laughed it off, but then I thought again about the fact that in reality, my life was actually ticking away. 

If all this is true, then I should be glad to have 46 years left. In some years, I will be 40 years old, having already spent 42% of my life with 58% remaining, according to the clock. I began to have lots of silent monologues and I thought about a bucket list I had written in 2008. Unfortunately, I could not remember a quarter of what I wrote or where I kept the list. Life events over the years had over-taken the things I had planned to achieve, even though most of them were pleasure-driven and a few for charity. 

But if I were to write a new bucket list I would split them equally, both charity and pleasure at 50% each. Here are a few items I would put, hoping to still have the energy and resources to achieve them in my remaining 46 years.

For charity, I would assist widows by placing them on a monthly payroll. I presently have just one widow. Adopt two kids, male and female to add to my biological one child that I hope to have. Volunteer at a crisis center or in a home for children with special needs. Recently, I spent some time at a home that had a child born with a hole in her throat. She was 9 months old but looked two weeks old. The hole made feeding difficult for her. The compassion and love I felt and still feel towards her has made me realize that I actually have the innate ability to take care of such children.

For pleasure, I would take a yearly solo trip to a country I have never visited as well as visit the five remaining continents (except Antarctica) on my list. Go Sky Diving as I love the rush of adrenaline. I am an adrenalin junky! Ride in a hot air balloon, climb one of the popular mountains... I hope am not deceiving myself on this one sha.

“The death clock” is pure fiction, but it does not rule out the overwhelming fact that death is inevitable.  When or how we know not. While we are chasing the pleasures of life and working too hard in order to live a comfortable life, we must bear in mind that the clock is slowly ticking, therefore we should strive to achieve our dreams and leave an impact that would be felt long after we are gone. 

The clock is ticking…