A FITTING TRIBUTE — by Steve Nadis
The memorial service for my uncle was a tremendously moving experience. I’ve known my uncle my whole life but learned a lot about him I didn’t know during the hour-and-a-half service. He’s an even more colorful character than I realized. I knew he was a great storyteller and heard many of the stories myself, but I also found out he was the kind of person who inspired stories and legends about him through the sheer force of his personality. People spoke quite eloquently about his life and recounted long humorous tales that were emotionally rare and totally captivating.
I couldn’t help wondering what kind of service might be held for me when I meet my end. I’m much duller than my uncle and doubt that people will carry on in the same fashion with equally fascinating stories. More likely, the remembrances will be rather brief: “He was a man of few words…” “He didn’t volunteer much…” “From the looks of it, he might have been intelligent but it was hard to tell…”
I’ve stopped wondering what a service for me would be like. I doubt very much that anyone would care enough to bother showing up. So I’ve left instructions to just heave my body into the compust bin. At least the gardens will benefit.
Hi Roses, you make me think it’s probably best to give up such morbid preoccupations. It’s hard to know what people will say or do when the time comes. In fact, it’s impossible to know.
AT TIMES, you clearly under-rate yourself, Snake.
I think you’re a classic example of a renewable resource.
You keep on comin’ back!…
why thanks, MP, that’s a compliment I’ve never received. Though there are some things we’d rather were not renewed…
I’m with MP. I think you vastly underrate yourself. You’re interesting, and I enjoy your posts very much. Besides, who else in the universe knows and appreciates the inner game of volleyball better?
Thank you, Windfall, though I don’t think I was fishing for praise. At the risk of sounding immodest, I don’t think there are too many blogs, or bloggers, around these days focusing on the inner game of volleyball. So in that way, at least, perhaps I do stand out. How people can neglect such a rich subject, however, continually baffles me.