Thanatopsis

Dawn and I went to a funeral this weekend. I would say for a friend, but I didn’t really know him that well. Dawn knew him, they were friends. But from the interactions I had with him I would say that I liked him. With more interactions we probably would have been friends.

During the funeral it struck me that the event didn’t really represent what I knew about the guy. I suppose funerals aren’t for the dead but for the people close the dead. Maybe they’re not supposed necessarily be modeled after what the dead would have enjoyed. All in all it started me thinking about Dawn’s funeral. I told Dawn as much over dinner and she was a bit taken aback.

Dawn: You were busy planning my funeral!?!

Bill: Yeah, I assumed I’ll be off the hook when it comes to planning mine. I’ll be dead.

Dawn: Oh really? Well, what’s my funeral going to be like?

I told her there would be a wake for her, and instead of everyone gathering around and putting whitewash over her life we’d probably sit around and laugh about all the truly nasty and evil things she did. She seems content with that plan.

The conversation was morbid and a bit awkward to be sure. It didn’t take too long before I made a verbal misstep.

Bill: I think the hardest part will be getting your parents to go along with the plan.

Dawn: My parents? Has it occurred to you that I might out live my parents? When exactly are you planning on killing me?

I tried to explain that this was a worst case scenario type planning. It would be worse if she died sooner instead of later (who says romance is dead). There’s no doubt about it - it’s a slippery subject. It’s hard to talk about without sounding too morbid or even worse - hopeful.