This is for all the Italians out there, and those who are lucky   enough to be married to an Italian, and even to all the friends of  Italians. 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. Were 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.

"Get outta here! " she shouted, "They're for the funeral!