An elderly Italian man lay dying in his bed.

While suffering the agonies
of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite Italian
anisette sprinkle cookies wafting up the stairs.

Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed. Leaning
against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even
greater effort, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled downstairs.
With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen.


Where, if not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in
heaven, for there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen 
table were
literally hundreds of his favorite anisette sprinkled cookies.
 Was it heaven?
Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted
 Italian wife of sixty years,
seeing to it that he left this world a happy 
man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on
his knees in a crumpled posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste of
the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing
 him back to life.

The aged
and withered hand trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of 
the table, when
it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.....

"Don't touch!" she said, "They're for the funeral."