Death and Punctuation

I read the following in the YAHOO!NEWS article "Author Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84" By Cristian Salazar, Associated Press Writer.

"When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut told the AP.

"My father, like Hemingway, was a gun nut and was very unhappy late in life. But he was proud of not committing suicide. And I'll do the same, so as not to set a bad example for my children."

I found myself thinking, why not go for an exclamation point by being a great example of purposeful living before going on to the next chapter.