Thursday, March 13, 2014

That Is The Way To Go!


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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