With each of my classes, I always begin the lesson by asking 'Tell me something interesting...' - some students struggle to find anything of interest in their lives (though sometimes with a gentle 'squeeze' from their friendly English teacher, something comes out of the toothpaste tube that is their memory!), some tell me something funny...and once in a while something 'hits you'. Such was the case this week with one of my younger classes. A young girl told me that her grandfather had died...at the age of 65. I commented that is was a fairly young age to die. She related how his wife had died back in August of cancer...barely 2-3 months ago. It seems that his whole world literally fell apart, for he took to drinking heavily & his health deteriorated...and then suddenly died.
Hearing this sad tale, I was reminded of something my wife told me from her job. When a man is told that he has cancer, the majority of them seem to give up completely and die without much fight...whereas women show more grit & determination & often live much longer than they were expected to. Indeed, I've come across such stories in some books too.
No easy answers...but I wonder why that is?
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