We realize that many people will have a personal connection to this phrase, but please do refrain from commenting unless you have a substantive answer to the question at hand.

I have a question about this quote. Could this be connected to when people would send family to mental institutions up north? People got sent to those places all the time for all kinds of reasons, and for some it was a death sentence.

Another question about this, is this the same as “he bought the farm” when talking about someone dying?