No Resting in Peace!

I have a confession to make. I love reading the obituaries! Even here in Florida where I really don't know anyone who has died. It is not the most obvious pastime for someone my age. My parents read the obits all the time in Buffalo, but that's because they recognize many of the adults who pass on these days, and sometimes even one of their contemporaries is in there. So my interest really lies just in the fascinating details of people's lives. I like reading about where people are from, what they did in their lives, little details that are included like an obscure hobby or two. There was someone in today's obits, a woman, who played with the Chicago Symphony under Leonard Bernstein. Cool! I also like to look at the names. I'm always on the lookout for a name that will capture my fancy that I can maybe work into a story someday. Today there was an "Essie." Never heard that name before, but it sure sounds grandmotherly. It's also neat that they mention which churches people belonged to. I like to think that many of the old-timers currently passing on had a solid connection to whichever church they were a member of. I think when my generation goes that connection will be more tenuous for a lot of people. I noticed the other day that two people with famous Watergate connections died at virtually the same time. One was Archibald Cox, the prosecutor. The other was some other lawyer whose name I didn't recognize. I suppose even having an awareness of Watergate dates me more than the name of a specific song on the radio. Although I paid no attention to Watergate at the time it happened. It was just a bunch of talking heads. So don't think that you'll be escaping my attention if you try to sneak out of this life in the obituary section. I may be watching!