Obituaries

Do you ever read the obituaries? When my daddy was alive he'd always say; "Well, I read the obituaries and didn't see my name so I guess I'll have breakfast." That was a long running "funny" if you will, that I wished I could still hear him say. He was a kind man who thought enough of his past acquaintances to read the obituaries daily to make sure he paid his respects to the family if someone he used to work with or knew passed away. When I started teaching Sunday school and had a couple of kids lose grandparents and I didn't know until after the fact, I too began the habit of reading the obituaries. One thing I have noticed over time is that a precious generation of people are quickly leaving us. A group of people who were born before Television sets, cordless phones, microwave ovens and even computers. This group of people listened to news on the radio. They dialed a rotary phone to call family and friends. They slept with their windows open and unlocked. They played baseball and got dirty. They walked to school and had their first kiss under a water tower. This was the generation of my grandparents and parents. My grandmother is still living at 92. Her mind is excellent, but her body is feeble and twisted with arthritis. Her name is Wilma and as I read the obituaries I see many other "old" names that remind me of her. Names like: Martha, Doris, Tillman, Grover, Minnie, Vera, Virginia, Correne, Luther, Roy, Walter, Ray, Frank, Harold, Nora ... you get the picture? So from the obituaries I not only gain knowledge of who has passed and who I need to pay my respects to, but I also am reminded of a generation of old. How I miss those old names and the people who had them. I miss their stories and simpler times. On May 28th it will be the one year anniversary of the passing of Chris's dad Frank as well as my dad's birthday. In memory of them I donated to my daughters teachers Relay for Life Help, find a cure for cancer fund. If you have a loved one who died of cancer and would like to honor their memory you can go to www.Relayforlife.org to donate to this worthy cause.

Let's keep the memory of a past generation alive.

God bless you today and always.