Lake Superior
A Bench by the Harbor -
I love Lake Superior. I took this photograph just a few days after our last snow. (We hope!) This bench sits close to the Duluth Aquarium.
I like the peace of this picture. Not a footprint in sight.
To be honest, I have entered the Funeral and Obituary Season of my life. Death no longer takes just Uncles, Aunts and Parents, but now cousins and friends.
I should read the obituaries. Mom read them until she died. She called when propriety required attendance at a funeral. Now my siblings and I muddle along hoping to catch them all.
True, newspapers make it easier. I can check the obits electronically. I can sign the guestbook of a friend in Fort Wayne from the comfort of my Cloquet office. Still I must remember to log in each day. Its useless to batch read obituaries a month at a time.
What do we really need? Automatic, email notification. I envision it this way.
I log on to the local newspaper and enter all those names I wish to track. When my cousin's husband, Fred, dies an email will tell me!
Yes, I see some technical problems. What if the family of my friend Dick Smith publishes his name as Richard. I think technology can handle it.
The Obit Notification may give me a number of false positives. It could email me about the Dick Smith who lives in Superior not the Dick Smith who lives in Duluth.
However, better too many notifications than missing an important funeral.
I have not solved one difficulty, however: Competition. Can you imagine graybeards my age at local bars and coffee shops. "Well, I have 56 people who are watching for my death. How many do you have?"
Ken
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