“I know death. I’m one of his old employees. He’s overrated believe me. I can assure you there’s almost nothing to him. The drudgeries that do on occasion precede death can hardly be credited to him, since they just prove that someone is alive and kicking and may lead back to life and health. But if anyone ever did come back, they could not tell you much about death, since we don’t actually meet him. We come out of darkness and return to darkness, with some experiences in between. We don’t experience the beginning and the end, birth and death.”
Thomas Mann, “The Magic Mountain”, 1924
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 