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On the nature of the Eulogy
Sep. 29th, 2007 09:50 amA lady I barely knew died yesterday. Already the posts are going up about how great she was. How much she will be missed. What a huge loss this is.
The only thing I can say about her is she seemed nice. Why yes, I do realize how lame this sounds, but it's the truth. I am sorry I only got to meet her once or twice to actually talk to because she DID seem nice. I am sorry for those who are missing her. I can do absolutely nothing to make you feel better about how much it sucks to lose her. At least I am being honest about it and not stacking unfelt platitudes upon your grieving heads.
We go through this a lot as the membership of the SCA ages. We lose someone and the e-lists light up. Did you hear? Did you know? Isn't it awful? The bardic types write poems and songs. The webwise make "In Memoriam" pages. Viking ships get burned on the lake at Pennsic and huge quantities of very good booze get consumed at wakes. These actions do absolutely nothing for the lost. They are to make those left behind feel better.
Now there's nothing wrong with that. It's normal. However, I have one question. When was the last time you told someone how much they meant to you while they were still breathing?
It has not been my karma to be lucky in love, but I am rich in my friends. If you are reading this, know that you are among those who make me smile or laugh out loud, who egg me on and challenge me to raise the bar even higher in my endeavors, to cut the crap and speak true, to get out of the garret and brave the terrors of social behavior, to stop being an asshole and be a better me.
(Do I have the nerve to post this to the kingdom e-list?)
The only thing I can say about her is she seemed nice. Why yes, I do realize how lame this sounds, but it's the truth. I am sorry I only got to meet her once or twice to actually talk to because she DID seem nice. I am sorry for those who are missing her. I can do absolutely nothing to make you feel better about how much it sucks to lose her. At least I am being honest about it and not stacking unfelt platitudes upon your grieving heads.
We go through this a lot as the membership of the SCA ages. We lose someone and the e-lists light up. Did you hear? Did you know? Isn't it awful? The bardic types write poems and songs. The webwise make "In Memoriam" pages. Viking ships get burned on the lake at Pennsic and huge quantities of very good booze get consumed at wakes. These actions do absolutely nothing for the lost. They are to make those left behind feel better.
Now there's nothing wrong with that. It's normal. However, I have one question. When was the last time you told someone how much they meant to you while they were still breathing?
It has not been my karma to be lucky in love, but I am rich in my friends. If you are reading this, know that you are among those who make me smile or laugh out loud, who egg me on and challenge me to raise the bar even higher in my endeavors, to cut the crap and speak true, to get out of the garret and brave the terrors of social behavior, to stop being an asshole and be a better me.
(Do I have the nerve to post this to the kingdom e-list?)
http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2007/august/gorilla.php