Reality bites; It could be over in a few moments

In an incident worthy of "Six Feet Under," a elderly woman died of dog bites in a rural county not far from Austin.

On Saturday afternoon, Lillian Stiles was doing what she loved, tending her yard and flowers from atop her riding lawn mower. About 4:15 p.m., she would be found fatally mauled by a pack of dogs.

Stiles, 76, was found lying in her front yard at her home near Thorndale with bites all over her body. She had been attacked by six pit bull-Rottweiler mixed-breed dogs owned by a man living less than 500 yards away.

Just like that, while her husband of more than 50 years watched the Oklahoma game in the house, Lillian was gone. "I'm going out to mow," she might have said. She often did this while he watched football. She loved tending to her yard, according to the extraordinary report in the American Statesman:

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/11/28dogs.html

We have so little prepared in our hearts for death, at least compared to other cultures. Savor every minute, even the ones that seem less than attractive. Live for the present. It could all be past as quickly as a handful of dogs can climb over a three-foot chain-link fence.