Except, of course, that the interface between life and body is a little different than the interface between the broadcaster and the radio set. A radio broadcast has to go through huge amplification to be intelligible to a radio, and be broadcast from a high tower. Contrariwise, a being operating a body has to step his output down considerably to get the body to behave properly.

But generally, I like the analogy. We used to have an announcer in these parts named Kingsley who was very knowledgeable about classical music. So when the radio which was tuned to his station suddenly stopped playing the programs he was on (actually, the station had folded) we changed it to a different radio (well, sane radio basically, but tuned to a different frequency) and lo!! there was Kingsley broadcasting about classical music from the new radio!! Remarkable!! (I am aware this torques the analogy a little, but cut me a little slack).

I have seen a man's face gradually become wholly unrecognizable as his brain succumbed to the rotting effect of advanced Parkinson's. The features slacken and the facial gestures vanish and the eyes dull. The body actually looks uninhabited -- nothing but habit left behind.    And believe it or don't but we felt we were receiving a lot more of his actual communication and personality the day after he was declared dead than we had for the months prior when he was stuck to the body in a vegetative state.

That's my .02 for what it's worth.


A