ANOTHER GOOD REASON FOR A MEMORIAL SERVICE 1-31-17

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith and Life for the Years of Winter

On January 29, I mentioned my discomfort with obits that say there will be no funeral or memorial service because that’s what the deceased decreed.

Izak Denisen, the nomme de plume of Karin Blixen, who wrote Out of Africa, says, “Any sorrow can be borne if a story can be told about it.”

There is always some emotion to be worked through by those who are left when a death occurs—grief, anger, guilt, sorrow, etc. We do that by sharing stories.

JRMcF

johnrobertmcfarland@gmail.com

I tweet as yooper 1721.

For years I have kept a careful index of stories and ideas I have used in this column so that I don’t remember. That’s cumbersome and time consuming and I forget to check it before I write anyway. I’m just going to trust that when I repeat, you are old enough that you won’t notice because you have lost either your memory or your marbles. [Remember how exciting it was to play marbles on the playground at recess? And how gruesome it was when you lost your favorite? I especially liked the way we played it when I moved to Oakland City at age10: There was a metal Maxwell House tin turned upside down, with a holdecut in the middle. We’d stand and drop a marble from eye level at the hole. If you missed, it bounced so high…}