THE LAST WORD
A friend of
mine has always joked that when he dies, he wants his ashes sprinkled over a
girls’ dormitory. If that’s not doable, when his end is near, he’ll row out to
sea with a jug of wine, drink it, and then all happy, he’ll pull the plug out
of the bottom of the boat. Next day, the papers will read: Man Lost At Sea.
Those two
examples of someone trying to face up to his own demise are one way to approach
the inevitable. But some people can face the end seriously enough to write
their own obituary. Have you considered doing so? I mean, who better? You know
yourself the best of anyone, and after all, you are a writer. Chances are, you’ll do a more in-depth job of it than
a grief-stricken (hopefully) relative who’s dealing with all the last-minute
details of your funeral. The flowers, the music, the eulogy, the after-service
repast.
Wanting to practice what I’m
preaching, I’ve taken a stab at composing my own obit:
Jean Harrington was a beautiful woman, a gifted
novelist with a brilliant wit. She loved a party
(true) and a good tale (whether true or not) and her entire
extended family, with some notable exceptions (you know who you are),
adored her. Jean was proud of her accomplishments, especially her children,
grandchildren and her published novels (not including the ones under her bed).
Etc., etc., etc.
As you can see, my obit is a work in
progress, but I’m determined to stick with the job to the bitter end. So I ask
again, how do you feel about all this? Will you write your own farewell? Or
leave the job up to Digger O’Dell and simply row out to sea with a jug of
happiness?
Jean Harrington is the author of
the award winning, tongue-in-cheek, Murders by Design Mystery Series. The five
books in the series star an interior designer, Deva Dunne, who never met a
house she didn’t love or a cold-blooded killer she didn’t hate.
Jean’s books are available through Amazon.
3 comments:
I never thought about writing my own obit. Makes me all squirmy to think about it, but also sounds like an interesting challenge!
Of course I'll write my own obituary, Jean. If I leave it up to family, they might reveal too many secrets...
Anne Marie, Writing your own obit guarantees that the only things you want revealed will be revealed. Well, it sort of guarantees that. And Marcelle, what at those secrets? You can tell me . . . On the other hand, think of Truman Capote and what he did with secrets. What fun!
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