I know I have a poor track record of consistent blogging posts but once in a while when I go to my Favorites and see my Blogger Dashboard is still there, I think maybe I should jot something down.
For some reason, this morning I was daring and opened it up. I pondered possibilities of subjects and now it's afternoon and I'm giving myself 20 minutes to write this because I have other things to do.
I woke up around 7:30 am and padded out to the coffee pot before sitting at the counter. My husband is now back to work as a professor and I sit in his favorite stool at the kitchen island. It has a great view of the river and morning traffic on the Intracoastal is soothing to witness. When he's not home is the only time I ever sit there.
We did travel to North Carolina in the RV. It was wonderful and cool and next year we will try to go for 2 whole months.
But I'm not talking about RVing today.
Anyway, as I perused this morning paper's headlines and looked over the classifieds ads of puppies for sale (no I do not need a puppy), I ended up where I always do - the obit page. My mother used to do that and it drove me nuts. I would ask 'why do you read those' and her solid answer was always to make sure she wasn't on it.
It got me to thinking and sometimes that takes me to odd places in my reality.
Now I know the process of how to submit a special notice to a newspaper - be it an engagement or wedding announcement - and sadly, more often than I care to recall, the dreaded obituary. I have submitted these various notices of information in person, online and camera ready.
NONE of those had typos or ommissions yet every single one ended up in print with typos and errors. The don't give refunds or credits for mistakes or typographical errors.
I find inaccuracies in obituaries to be the worst of the worst thing to happen when trying to publish a notice. Some errors are obvious even if you don't know the person. For example if the deceased spells his last name one way, but then the list of male survivors all have a different spelling last name, well, that is an obvious error. One can only imagine the angst the family feels when they open the paper to read the words about their dearly departed and discover his name spelled wrong. That person who had 'that job' gets the 'stink eye' aimed at them by the rest of the family - trust me on this.
When discussing the deceased, no one ever, ever, ever is entirely truthful. It's not politically correct to call anyone bad names when they can't defend themselves.
But really, does everyone die peacefully surrounded by loved ones??? It would seem so but I know that not to be true. I was with my mother when she passed and it was not peaceful because before she took her last breath I was already wailing and sobbing in my sorrow. I was scared and angry and all alone and I wailed and sobbed enough for those who weren't there. I liken it to screaming in the dentist chair with folks in the waiting room...everyone in that wing knew what had happened.
I didn't mention that on the obituary form I submitted.
I did mention however, that she enjoyed her animals and gardening.
If I wrote my own notice it would go something like this:
Patricia Lynn Knoch Doyle died after being sick and tired for a while. Mrs. Doyle - who was 90 (I'm making that up) was kicking and screaming right up to the end. Her family had just gone out to lunch when, finally, she took her last breath and went to meet her Heavenly Father. The jury is still out that she made it. She lived longer than we ever thought possible but you know what they say - only the good die young. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of her death.
Patricia had a sick sense of humor, could be witty and charming as can be; she also could cut you in half with her words and was famous for her 'silent treatment' approach to those who crossed the line. She swore like a sailor and failed miserably each Lent when she gave up cursing. Her hobbies were worrying, worrying and worrying. She was a recovering Roman Catholic and remained racked with guilt throughout her entire life.
She worked from the time she was 14 years old and in the early days of her marriage, when they were always broke, she drove several shit box cars and never complained unless they leaked.
Widely known for her frequent change of hair styles, lengths and colors, her husband preferred her blond but that never stopped her constant experimenting with various hues. Some were real doozies.
Left behind to finally enjoy some peace and quiet is her loving husband of what seemed like a hundred years and two sons (all of whom she loved dearly) as well as a couple of siblings, a few dogs and a long lost cousin on Long Island she found on Facebook...................................
Well, there's probably more I would say but I want to watch HGTV's "House Hunters" before Judge Judy comes on - Her Honor is one of my husband's favorites.
Like I said, this is just a rough death notice but you get the picture of where I'm going with these notices...
Hopefully, I'll have a long time before I have to really get it done. And I'll put money on the very real likelihood of the publication spelling my maiden name with a 'k' at the end instead of an h.
I assure you I'm not going to worry about it at all.
Peace and love.
No comments:
Post a Comment