Part
of my duties as Secretary has been to relay the passing of Brothers and, most
recently, the wives and widows of brothers. I have shared this aspect of the
job with you previously. However, my sister posted something on her Facebook
wall a few days ago that brought a little lightness to the subject. The levity comes
in the form of the obituary of Walter George Bruhl Jr. Yes, an obituary but this one
is a little bit different in that Walter, knowing the certainty of his eventual
end, penned the reflection himself. Some of the highlights:
Walter George Bruhl Jr. of Newark and Dewey Beach is a dead
person; he is no more; he is bereft of life; he is deceased; he has rung down
the curtain and gone to join the choir invisible; he has expired and gone to
meet his maker….
He was surrounded by his loving wife of 57 years, Helene
Sellers Bruhl, who will now be able to purchase the mink coat which he had
always refused her because he believed only minks should wear mink…
Walt was preceded in death by his tonsils and adenoids in
1935; a spinal disc in 1974; a large piece of his thyroid gland in 1988; and
his prostate on March 27, 2000...
There will be no viewing since his wife refuses to honor his
request to have him standing in the corner of the room with a glass of Jack
Daniels in his hand so he would appear natural to visitors….
Cremation will take place at the family's convenience, and
his ashes will be kept in an urn until they get tired of having it around.
What's a Grecian Urn? Oh, about 200 drachmas a week…
While
many have found humor and inspiration in the words, I find it entertaining
because I can hear myself saying the same thing at the end. It is probably
something that I could schedule to be posted on this blog if I knew the time
were fast approaching. That would put an interesting twist. Maybe I could
arrange a call them all and record something on my death bed. That would be a
little messed up but damn would it be funny…
“Hi ____, just wanted to let you
know that I’m dead. John Cleese will be by soon to pick me up so don’t worry
about making arrangements. I will post additional details about my death later
today on my blog. It will include all arrangements that have been made. Oh, and
if I don’t respond to your comments right away it’s because I’m dead! Anyway,
that’s about all for now. Maybe I’ll see you later. Bye.”
That
would be the general message to friends and family. Of course, I would have to
keep a few people off of that list because this would be the perfect time to
record a message to call out dead from work. Hey, I don’t plan on retiring, so
this one is a possibility. Then I could end the call by asking for bereavement time
to mourn my own passing.
While
none of us look forward to that day, it is the eventual sunset (actually it
would be more of a night fall) that we know is on the other side of the horizon
we just don’t know how far. It is going to happen so why not have a little fun
on the way out. Of course, why not have a little fun every day and enjoy the
humor that is all around us if you just pay attention. If anything, by his
obituary going viral, that is the real legacy that Walter has left behind.
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