I first learned about cryonics when very young, by reading the novel "A Door Into Summer" by Robert Heinlein. In the 1980's I received Alcor's information, but I probably wouldn't have done anything further except for two events that happened about ten years apart. A bit of background---my family is very religious, and though they don't object to cryonics for other people, they would never consider suspension---and neither would I, had I not moved to Colorado and encountered the Joke Religions.

If you've never heard of these, a few examples are Discordianism, the Church of the Subgenius, and the Church of the Risen Elvis. There are far more now then there were at the time, due to the internet. The Church of the Risen Elvis is quite understandable from its name. The Church of the Subgenius advertises "Eternal Salvation Guaranteed---or Triple Your Money Back!". My favorite, though, was Discordianism, which is a blend of mythology (Discordia, or Eris in Greek, is the sister of the god of war) Taoism, Zen, and general silliness. (The Discordian law of fives states that the number five can be connected with everything, given sufficient diligence on the part of the seeker.)

Discordianism is a media cult, beloved by camera crews and the folks whose names scroll really fast during the end credits. As a consequence, the church's sacred number, "23", crops up quite a bit on film and television---for example, in Scary Movie II when the calender pages fall off to the 23rd, the caller id phone number for God in "Bruce Almighty", when you see a flight number or hotel door in a scene, and recently Jim Carey did a movie called "23", which I haven't seen but understand is actually a horror flick.(As an aside, the number 23 became more noticeable in my life, it was issued me when I got a Post Office Box, my street address in Boulder, and was also the membership number given me by the local Association of Realtors.)

It's safe to say that Discordianism showed me how ridiculous my previous religion had been. During my time working at the University (in the College of Engineering) I learned a lot about emerging trends in bioengineering and nanotech. I became absolutely convinced that cryonic suspension and eventual revival was a sure thing. I still didn't do anything about it until I was hospitalized with chest pains. While I was in the hospital awaiting admission, two men were brought in whose pickup truck had been hit by a semi while they were stopped at a construction site. One was DOA, the other died while I watched the ER crew desperately try to get a heartbeat. They literally never knew what hit them. That incident moved me to get off my butt and get signed up!

I contacted an insurance agent that works with Alcor about getting a policy. However, it turns out that Alcor insisted on owning the policy, and since my insurance was group, through the University of Michigan, it wouldn't qualify. I couldn't afford the policy I was quoted, and the agent never told me about the Cryonics Institute, who I found much later while surfing the web. I signed my contract and have been a member for several years now. I tell people about cryonics whenever possible. They might not be interested now, but at least they know it's a possibility and might think about it in the future. A couple of years ago my cat died of a liver tumor and I had her suspended. She was the 23rd companion animal placed in cryonic suspension at CI.