A letter in one of the men’s health magazines caught my eye and I couldn’t figure out if it was legit. You decide.

A 65-year old man from Denver wrote in to say his wife wants him to stop skiing because he’s on blood thinners and a fall could cause him to bleed to death, internally. He wanted to know if the benefits of skiing outweigh the risks of falling. In other words, he wanted someone to help him stand up to his wife. Either that or he really wanted to quit and he was looking for someone to tell him it was OK, that he wasn’t turning into an old woman.

Life is short and the people who live the longest seem to agree as they get near the end that their regrets are not based on things they’ve done, but the things the wished they would’ve. Why ask anyone else what you should or shouldn’t do? On that last day, we all deal with those should’ve’s and could’ve’s on our own. Why let anyone else decide what we bring with us to that day?

I’ve noticed, too that when people are trying to screw you over, they generally tell you they’re doing it to help you. In the case of a “loved one” they tell you they’re concerned about your safety, which means they don’t feel like they should have to worry about you. So, it’s really about them and their own comfort. That may be a subtle nuance for many people to differentiate, but it’s not so much about your death as it is about how your death will affect them. It’s all about them.

Skiing is one of the activites medical researchers refer to as Risk/Exercise. Besides the obvious benefits of being outdoors and reaping some physical reward from the activity itself, the element of risk also provides us a very beneficial endorphin release. In plain terms, activities like skiing are both healthful and beneficial, providing you don’t smack into a tree.

The real kicker, for me was the part where the guy bitterly interjected his wife’s lifelong addiction to cigarettes, something she has been unwilling to give up. The irony is that she’s trying to get her husband to quit something that is mostly beneficial and enjoyable (2 key considerations in quality of life) while she continues to partake in something that will certainly shorten her life, probably in a most agonzing way. After that, of course she’d be home free, no worries.

At the end of the day, this is either completely fictitious or this guy’s got some issues, of which skiing may be the least. At least he said he had a rigorous sex life. He didn’t mention his wife’s level of involvement.