I'm doing a lot better than I expected I would be. I started getting caught up on all those appointments I've been putting off -- car servicing, doctor and vet visits, lawn mower repair. Maybe I'll call somebody about the tree on the roof...
I don't have a lot of people around right now, and I'm pretty happy that way. I've told a couple of people that I'm probably in better shape than they are, but I'm not strong enough to take care of them right now.
I'm sure I'll need some help with the memorial -- we're going potluck, since I have absolutely no clue how many people might show up. I'm also not going to make any rain provisions, so think sunny thoughts. I guess I should get some tables and chairs and beer and stuff -- if you want to help out with those kind of arrangements, give me a holler.
Sent the obit to Lensing this morning. I'm going to ask them to run it tomorrow. I'll post it here later.
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Katie and I have been exchanging emails this morning. I'll be there Thursday afternoon so I can help Kevin get things set up on Friday and Saturday AM. I think we'll be seeing lots of folks on Saturday.
I can help. Walker has some baseball tourney or something, but I'll have time.
Kevin, are you going to make those famous triple layer truffles you're famous for?
A HOLLER!!!
And a brief tale about a cultural interaction.
I come from a certain tradition, one that I grew up with and, when confronted with death and bereavement, I react automatically according to that tradition.
When a Jew dies, that person's immediate family sits Shiva (no, NOT the god, nothing quite so lofty). For maybe one week, the immediate family covers all the mirrors in the house (for the bereavement period is not a time for vanity), and friends and relatives swoop down to comfort the bereaved. Visiting hours are left to the good sense of the visitors, or perhaps the family will let those kind-hearted folks know when they are welcome.
There is one rule (as I know it. Others may do it differently). While the immediate family are the nominal hosts to visitors, they are NOT required to actually act as hosts. That is the job of a volunteer force of whoever decides that they will help feed visitors and clean up after them. The bereaved do nothing but mourn and take all the kind condolences they can stand. The volunteer force cooks, cleans, orders and pays for any food, and serves those kindly condolence callers whatever kosher goodie might be on hand. When the callers have gone, the volunteers clean house, do laundry, pay bills, whatever daily life requires, but which mourning may make more difficult (or so the theory goes). So, for every day a Jewish family decides to sit Shiva, the volunteer force will show up at a reasonable hour in the morning and begin the process of allowing the mourners to mourn and accept condolences. At a reasonable hour in the evening the force will leave, to begin the process again the next day, until the Shiva period is officially over.
With that background, as soon as I heard that my friend had died, I immediately canceled the rest of my week so as to be available to do Kevin's (or, more probably in my mind, Olive's) bidding. Cook, clean, serve the masses, whatever it took to get Kevin through his week of mourning. So I told Kevin that I was his "slave for the week."
He looked at me as though I had just landed in a ship from Mars. Making cultural assumptions will occasionally get you such looks.
I am no longer hopelessly confused. (whoever is snickering, please stop)
So, Kevin, let me know what when and where to help with the setup for the ceremony (or anybody else who has an inside track on what needs to be done), and I will be there.
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