He was a basket case when his wife died, so much so that a great deal of the decision making was yielded to others—others whose thought processes were not exactly what his would have been, had he been capable of thinking. Now, years later, he was living with the regrets.  When he walked into our […]

“Time is the most valuable thing there is. Since the beginning of time, there never seems to be enough of it. People try to beat time, but time always wins. Sometimes when you run out of time you end up doing time. And even if you’re rich you can’t buy more time – although some […]

The phone rang (as phones are prone to doing—especially around here) and the director answered.  On the other end of the line was a hospice nurse in Atlanta, Georgia. Nurse:  “I’m calling to let you know we have a patient who is transitioning and the family wishes to use your facility.” Director:  “All right. “Wait […]

Years and years and years ago, my father served on the board of what was then National Selected Morticians and which became, much to his dismay, Selected Independent Funeral Homes.  He simply preferred the initials NSM to SIFH.  We won’t be discussing why, but he tried with some success to marshal the forces and circumvent […]

The arrangement conference had not gone smoothly, to say the least.  The sole family member present had been polite enough, but the funeral director felt like he didn’t trust her ability.  Maybe it was because she was young or because she was a she or just because, but for whatever reason, it had not been […]

A few weeks ago this would have been our post, but it just didn’t seem appropriate given the violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  So today, on a much lighter note (and in recognition of the abundance of rain we’ve received lately), we present the following: Yesterday I was scanning my […]

It wasn’t incredibly busy last Friday—just your routine customers walking in, phone ringing off the wall sort of day.  I happened to be in the business office that morning (as opposed to my semi-personal office) when the phone began demanding attention.  The sole secretary was otherwise occupied, so I did what any self-respecting, responsible employee […]

Last Saturday, a group of young people gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the sole purpose of making their voices heard.  Why?  Because they’d had enough.  Actually, because they’d had too much.  Just a few days earlier, fourteen students and three staff members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High […]

I don’t know what to say.  I had this all planned out.  Actually, I had it all planned out at least three times.  At first I thought about doing a public service announcement regarding how dead people can’t collect on life insurance policies when they’re named as the beneficiary.  It seemed like a good topic […]

Last year my husband’s uncle died.  His name was Joe M. Thomas.  My husband’s name is Joseph E. Thomas, but everyone knows him as Joe.  Can you see where this is headed?  Coincidentally, when the hospital called to release Joe M. to us, Joe E. was the person answering the phones after hours.  We were […]