Wolves

Interesting fact about wolves in the wild; they live only about 2 years.  That's it.  Two years, or if you believe the common 'times 7' conversion, 14 in dog years.  Compare that to the common domesticated dog, where, depending on the breed, they can make it 10, 15 and even longer.  Quality of life for a domesticated dog is so much better than their fight for life every minute wild counterpart.  The benefits of not having to hunt for everything you eat, comfortable shelter, nutrition, vet care, even dog car harnesses and advanced medicine, have made dog's lives a much longer venture.

The same can be said about humans.  In the Bronze age, life expectancy was 18.  Seriously, if you made it to 35 back then, you were the wise old village elder.  Today it's 80 plus.  Less warfare, indentured servitude, and wild animal killings and more houses, medical care, workplace safety measures and a reliable, normalized diet have extended human life over 4 times longer than our ancient counterpart.

Which brings up an interesting observation when it comes to death.  We have a tremendous amount of people who die way too young because of drugs and alcohol.  Type in 'celebrity' and '27' into any search engine to see a shocking list of musicians and actors who met their demise at 27, most of them from drug and/or alcohol abuse, or from something related to said abuse.

Mind you, these people aren't just turning back the clock to the ages of yore, choosing to partake in a life expectancy more akin to ancient Rome.  They are fighting back hard, medical advancements be damned, consuming enough booze and/or drugs to wipe themselves out.  If a person who dies of alcohol abuse at 25 today, lived back then, they probably would have died at 10.  I know a person who met both John Belushi and Amy Winehouse in their last throes of life.  Both of them were so out of it, they couldn't answer even simple questions.  In the case of Winehouse, he did something he had never done before, broke the mold of the job he was supposed to do and insisted on immediate medical care for her, something her people fought hard against.  The way the story was relayed to me, it was as if he realized he was walking past a burning building.  If he didn't yell fire, he was complacent in the ensuing carnage.

As I continue to think about things post drinking, I'm astounded by the vice in which we partake in.  I'm not against drinking.  I'm not.  I just have a different perspective about it now that I have, hopefully, given it up for good.  I am 46.  It is numbing to think about the people younger than me who are long off this planet, aided on their journey with drugs and alcohol.

Most people without a mental condition wouldn't knowingly choose to throw back the clock and die young, but how many people are de facto choosing that path because they think they drink to live, when in reality they live to drink.  We romanticize the party lifestyle, but when was the last time a person thought of a party lifestyle which didn't include copious amounts of booze and drugs?  We worship this stupidity way too much.  The good die young?  Bullshit, only a dumb fool would throw away the 50 to 60 years their life may hold just so they can get their drink on.

My dog is not dumb.  He has zero intent on throwing back the clock and return to his species feral roots.  Instead of looking for a wounded squirrel and wondering where he can possible get out of the cold for the night, he is currently sleeping on the floor next to me, with a full belly and a smile on his muzzle.