<story><title>Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died</title><text>My dad got really sick a few months ago. I was shocked but also panicked about the idea of him dying without me knowing him well. He was a great dad but didn&amp;#x27;t talk much.&lt;p&gt;Fortunately, he got better for a short time. I seized the opportunity to ask him as much as he could answer and film him. Of course, his memory wasn&amp;#x27;t perfect but I got the big picture.&lt;p&gt;Now that he passed away, I&amp;#x27;m both devastated and glad that I got to know him more and kept a record so I can see his face and listen to his voice for more than the usual family video. I wish I had done it sooner though.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve heard multiple people tell me they don&amp;#x27;t know their parents&amp;#x27; or grandparents&amp;#x27; life, or they&amp;#x27;ve heard it  but they&amp;#x27;ve eventually forgotten so I thought I&amp;#x27;d share. I hope this will help some of you.&lt;p&gt;Thank you blood donors&lt;p&gt;Thank you dad</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>gunapologist99</author><text>I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your Mom sounds really awesome, and this sort of passphrase is really smart.&lt;p&gt;But, &amp;quot;proof&amp;quot; of God&amp;#x27;s existence in this way would eliminate the need for faith. Conversely, you also cannot prove that God does &lt;i&gt;not&lt;/i&gt; exist, making it a faith, of a sort, in both directions.&lt;p&gt;Truly, faith is a choice: you choose if you are going to have it (or try to have it), or not.&lt;p&gt;And thus not having faith is also a choice -- it&amp;#x27;s an implicit, and sometimes explicit, rejection of faith; and, thus, God.&lt;p&gt;So I wouldn&amp;#x27;t hold my breath waiting for that message from your Ma, as awesome as she sounds; if she is wrong, and there is no heaven, then you will never receive that message; and, if she is right, as I deeply and humbly believe, you will also never receive the message because that would eliminate the need for you to make a decision, personally, to have faith or not.</text></item><item><author>zw123456</author><text>Sorry for your loss and everyone else who is sharing.&lt;p&gt;About 10 years ago, my mom came down with cancer and was in hospice care for some time. I had the opportunity to sit with her and hold hands and talk. She was a person of faith, I am not. She asked me to light the yahrzeit for her which I of course agreed to do, and did, although I had to consult the internet to figure out how.&lt;p&gt;She asked me if I would reconsider my rejection of faith, I had to be honest with her and said that I was sorry that I could not do that. She said if she got up there, into heaven, and could get me a message, would I change my mind. I said sure Ma. We came up with a goofy pass phrase, that only her and I knew, and pinky swore never to tell anyone. No, I have not received the message, but I do the candle. It is coming up on the 10th the web site says.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>zw123456</author><text>Well. All I know is this.&lt;p&gt;I was a weird kid, and my mom protected me. I grew up on a farm in a pretty rural area. 
When I was between my sophomore and junior year in high school, my dad wanted me to work on the farm, to make me a man, or whatever. I wanted to go to science camp for the summer. Ma, put her foot down, and I got to go to science camp.&lt;p&gt;I dunno about the god stuff. I am not holding my breath on the message. But, I am lighting her candle.&lt;p&gt;That&amp;#x27;s all I got to say on it.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died</title><text>My dad got really sick a few months ago. I was shocked but also panicked about the idea of him dying without me knowing him well. He was a great dad but didn&amp;#x27;t talk much.&lt;p&gt;Fortunately, he got better for a short time. I seized the opportunity to ask him as much as he could answer and film him. Of course, his memory wasn&amp;#x27;t perfect but I got the big picture.&lt;p&gt;Now that he passed away, I&amp;#x27;m both devastated and glad that I got to know him more and kept a record so I can see his face and listen to his voice for more than the usual family video. I wish I had done it sooner though.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve heard multiple people tell me they don&amp;#x27;t know their parents&amp;#x27; or grandparents&amp;#x27; life, or they&amp;#x27;ve heard it  but they&amp;#x27;ve eventually forgotten so I thought I&amp;#x27;d share. I hope this will help some of you.&lt;p&gt;Thank you blood donors&lt;p&gt;Thank you dad</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>gunapologist99</author><text>I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your Mom sounds really awesome, and this sort of passphrase is really smart.&lt;p&gt;But, &amp;quot;proof&amp;quot; of God&amp;#x27;s existence in this way would eliminate the need for faith. Conversely, you also cannot prove that God does &lt;i&gt;not&lt;/i&gt; exist, making it a faith, of a sort, in both directions.&lt;p&gt;Truly, faith is a choice: you choose if you are going to have it (or try to have it), or not.&lt;p&gt;And thus not having faith is also a choice -- it&amp;#x27;s an implicit, and sometimes explicit, rejection of faith; and, thus, God.&lt;p&gt;So I wouldn&amp;#x27;t hold my breath waiting for that message from your Ma, as awesome as she sounds; if she is wrong, and there is no heaven, then you will never receive that message; and, if she is right, as I deeply and humbly believe, you will also never receive the message because that would eliminate the need for you to make a decision, personally, to have faith or not.</text></item><item><author>zw123456</author><text>Sorry for your loss and everyone else who is sharing.&lt;p&gt;About 10 years ago, my mom came down with cancer and was in hospice care for some time. I had the opportunity to sit with her and hold hands and talk. She was a person of faith, I am not. She asked me to light the yahrzeit for her which I of course agreed to do, and did, although I had to consult the internet to figure out how.&lt;p&gt;She asked me if I would reconsider my rejection of faith, I had to be honest with her and said that I was sorry that I could not do that. She said if she got up there, into heaven, and could get me a message, would I change my mind. I said sure Ma. We came up with a goofy pass phrase, that only her and I knew, and pinky swore never to tell anyone. No, I have not received the message, but I do the candle. It is coming up on the 10th the web site says.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Volundr</author><text>&amp;gt; Truly, faith is a choice&lt;p&gt;I know this is something people say, but I&amp;#x27;ve never found it to be true. I could pretend to believe but deep down that wouldn&amp;#x27;t make me a believer. If I could simply choose to believe there was something after death I would, it would be a great comfort, but I simply cannot.</text></comment>