Chapter 21. Near, Far, Wherever You Are

The Kominsky Method 3×5

Sandy Kominsky: How're you feeling?
Roz: I know you mean well, but that is a stupid question.

Sandy Kominsky: Dying, on camera or on stage, to play a heartbreaking and hopefully slow death, is the dream of every actor. I would wager there's not an actor or actress who hasn't fantasized about how they would play those final moments. As the life force slowly slips away and as we teeter on the edge of nonexistence, how would we gasp out those last words of wit and wisdom?...
     But is that what happens as death draws close? Do the dying exact promises from those they leave behind? Do they confess their sins? Do they make a joke? ...
     What I'm asking you to think about... is what actually happens in those final moments. I'm not talking about a shocking, violent death. I'm talking about... when you know it's coming. When you've fully surrendered to the... ultimate magic trick. When we really and truly disappear.
     I've sat at the bedside, and I've held the hands of friends and... and loved ones as they breathed their last breath. And I can tell you this. The dramatic soliloquy at the end of life is pure and utter nonsense. If anything is being said, it's internal. You can almost hear it. They're having an internal conversation filled with disbelief and... and... and wonder that their life has come to an end. They hardly notice you sitting there at all.
     For the dying, the living are irrelevant.
     So, if you should ever have the opportunity to play such a scene, approach it with reverence. Consider it holy. Make sure it receives your utmost care and respect.

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