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"What-to-Do-Before-You-Die" Author Dies

On August 17, 2008, Dave Freeman, co-author of the book 100 Things to Do Before You Die, died at age 47 from a head injury incurred in a fall at his home. His book inspired the movie The Bucket List and similar imitation lists.

Freeman's own list included things like attending the Academy Awards, running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and taking a voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti.

The story drips with irony. According to his family, Freeman had actually gotten to do only about 50 of the things on his list before he died, reminding us that we may never accomplish all the things we hope to do.

He took a knock on the head and died at a relatively young age, reminding us that none of us knows how long we have to live.

And tragically perhaps for Freeman, among the 100 things Freeman and his co-author suggested that others do before they die, he did not include preparing for the Day of Judgment by entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

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