Dead Bodies
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
United Kingdom
December 28, 2016 2:19pm CST
For no particular reason I was thinking today about the first dead body I ever saw.
I was about 6 years old, and a boy of about the same age had gone missing from our neighbourhood. They were dredging the river for him and quite a few of us were watching the operation. They found his body and hauled him up into the boat, and though they covered him up straight away, I had seen enough to make a deep impression on me.
The next time I saw a body was when I was in my twenties and was driving along a country road at night. The traffic had come to a halt and I got out of my car and walked up the line to see what the problem was, and there had been an accident.
I asked a bystander if there were any casualties, and he said "Just this one so far", and shone his torch onto the grass verge where the body of a man lay. I was so shocked - I was practically standing on him!
It upset me a lot as it seemed so disrespectful to just dump him there, but of course they were concentrating on the ones they might possibly be able to save. This poor man was obviously beyond help.
The only other bodies I have seen have been two family members, and my paralysed friend who died a couple of years ago. This latter looked really beautiful in her coffin, and I was glad that I had gone to see her.
So that is just 5 dead bodies I've seen in total during my 77 years. Have you seen many?
58 people like this
25 responses
@allknowing (136601)
• India
29 Dec 16
I have lost count of the number. Strange that you have seen just 5 so far.
6 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@allknowing I deliberately didn't see either of my parents or my grandparents as I just didn't want to. I've been fortunate not to lose many people close to me.
2 people like this
@allknowing (136601)
• India
29 Dec 16
@jaboUK They are open here and are closed just before they are lowered in the grave.
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
29 Dec 16
@jaboUK As Hindus we don't have coffins. So have seen and mourned over family, friends and students.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Dec 16
I've never seen one, and honestly, I really don't want to.
5 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Dec 16
@teamfreak16 It's not a very pleasant experience, though when I saw my friend in her coffin she looked beautiful. She was 54 but looked about 20 years younger.
3 people like this
@cacay1 (83505)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
29 Dec 16
@teamfreak16 , oh not easy , right especially during our sleep,we keep on imagining lol,
4 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
28 Dec 16
I have only seen two, both of whom were relatives and in a coffin.
4 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
28 Dec 16
@jaboUK Yes, I would be very frighten otherwise like in your situations. :)
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Dec 16
@infatuatedbby It's not so bad when they are all tidy in a coffin.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180908)
• United States
29 Dec 16
Other than friends and relatives in their caskets, I have only seen a couple of others and not close up. One time I saw a body lying in the mall parking lot but from a distance, I thought they were making a movie because there were so many bright lights around and it was night. However, actually they were news cameras and lighting since it had been a domestic shooting. Another time I saw not much of a body but the feet and boots of a construction worker that had been killed near the same mall.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180908)
• United States
29 Dec 16
In thinking about this, I wonder why the body was still lying there..they don't typically show bodies on the news..hmmm...
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180908)
• United States
29 Dec 16
@jaboUK I don't know maybe they were just getting things ready..I just saw the scene in passing.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16761)
• China
29 Dec 16
I can't remember how many bodies I have seen,However I did see them. I think most of the bodies I have seen were in the undertaker's.Even though I am not so timid,I would quickly sweep my eyes over the pale-faced body with a solemn expression then.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16761)
• China
30 Dec 16
@jaboUK Yes,those that are killed in car crashes must be too horrible to look at.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@changjiangzhibin89 At least when they are in the undertakers they are presented nicely, and you know what you are going to see.
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60794)
• Perth, Australia
4 Apr 17
@jaboUK So terrible that you saw a deceased body at such a young age! And I found it very wrong that the bystander shone his torch on the other man on the road. No one in their right mind would want to see that so he should have been more respectful and not shown you!
I've only seen one. That being my Uncle Danny. He had acute leukemia. It was a very sad experience to hear his very last breath. I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek and left the room bawling my eyes out and now I'm crying just typing it. I understand we all die but I wish all bad illnesses could be wiped from the Earth. I always knew cancer was a horrible thing but to actually watch someone suffering makes me see it differently in a much worse way.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
5 Apr 17
@VivaLaDani13 Sorry that you actually had to see your uncle die. I've never experienced that, and hope I never will.
2 people like this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
29 Dec 16
Nope haven't seen any and hope that long-standing record remains....excuse the pun 
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@MarymargII According to the commenters here, that's unusual that you've not seen any at all. And yes, I'll excuse the pun!
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Dec 16
@MarymargII Happy New Year to you too Linda.
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
30 Dec 16
@jaboUK I'll count my blessings:) Happy New Year!
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
29 Dec 16
My stomach turns up when I see bodies like that. I dread seeing blood.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@sunrisefan I don't have a phobia about it, but of course it's unpleasant.
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
29 Dec 16
@jaboUK Do you dread seeing blood too, Janet?
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99380)
• Canada
29 Dec 16
I have had many friends and relatives who have passed and I have been to their wakes so more the i can recall. The first one I seen was when I was 5 years old and my uncle was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was wake at my grandparent's house and we were staying there at the time.
2 people like this
@Happy2BeMe (99380)
• Canada
30 Dec 16
@jaboUK for the most part the caskets are always open here for public viewing. It was about my uncle. It is something I will never forget.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
29 Dec 16
i've forgotten how many i've seen.my extended family's all way older than me,so it happens pretty often.i also worked in hotels where we find people occasionally.
but they're really the lucky ones,their pains are over.
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
28 Dec 16
More than we would like to think about.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Dec 16
@PatZAnthony Have you really? I have been lucky, I suppose.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23405)
• United Kingdom
31 Dec 16
I am afraid I have seen far too many in my personal life and throughout my career. I don't think I could even come up with a figure but I would imagine it being a three figure number!
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
1 Jan 17
@garymarsh6 I suppose you have got used to seeing them, as it goes with the territory, given your line of work.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23405)
• United Kingdom
1 Jan 17
@jaboUK Yes still very sad though! It is like a stab in the heart every time. Happy new Year.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
29 Dec 16
The only one I ever saw was my Mom @jaboUK and that was enough.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@nanette64 Yes, it's not a thing you'd want to make a habit of.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
28 Dec 16
I think I saw my first one when I was in my 20's a family member.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Dec 16
@fishtiger58 It's rather upsetting, isn't it?
1 person likes this
@spaceseed (2843)
• India
29 Dec 16
I have seen that people in UK die by drowning more often then other reasons even today. occasionally my eyes keep reading news of someone drowning specially in your country side.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 16
@spaceseed I don't have any statistics, but drowning does happen quite a lot. I would have thought that there were more accidental deaths due to car crashes etc. though.
