Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: funeral
My Time as a Funeral Emcee
I was once the emcee of a funeral. I had no qualifications for this role. I’m not a minister or a funeral director or even a practiced mourner. But when my longtime friend asked me to be the emcee of her mother’s funeral, I… Continue Reading “My Time as a Funeral Emcee”
My Lovely Funeral
I woke up in the middle of the night with a complete plan for my own funeral. It’s odd to have that degree of clarity and not consider it so fleeting that I should switch on the light and write it down on some… Continue Reading “My Lovely Funeral”
Prepare a Place for Me
There was only one reason why my father would be calling me. My mother must be dead. He explained how it happened, how just last week he had given up taking care of her at home, that for the third time, she’d gone limp… Continue Reading “Prepare a Place for Me”
Sallie’s Funeral
I went to Sallie’s funeral today. It was in a very old Episcopal church downtown, the kind where you need to leave your coat on because the heat, what there is of it, will rise to the very top of the vaulted ceiling and… Continue Reading “Sallie’s Funeral”
99 New: The Memorial Service
This morning I went to a memorial service for a woman who went by the name Shorty though her given name was June. She had been homeless many years when she died although it probably wouldn’t be fair to say homelessness caused her death… Continue Reading “99 New: The Memorial Service”
Painting after a Funeral
I am tired from the painting and the funeral-going, the driving, the turnpikes, the rain in sheets, blinding us in the midst of giant, careening trucks, their drivers late for dinner, the turnpike shoulders taken up by construction, orange cones in blurry lines, relatives… Continue Reading “Painting after a Funeral”
I Went to a Funeral Today
We were the last to come. The trip was longer than we’d planned and by the time we got to the church, nearly all the pews were filled. My old friend stood at the front of the church, a small cluster of people around… Continue Reading “I Went to a Funeral Today”
My Funeral Playlist
I’m working on my funeral playlist. So far I have: Fire and Rain, James Taylor Morning Has Broken, Cat Stevens Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce God Only Knows, Beach Boys Bridge Over Troubled Water,… Continue Reading “My Funeral Playlist”
My Lovely Funeral
I woke up in the middle of the night with a complete plan for my own funeral. It’s odd to have that degree of clarity and not consider it so fleeting that I should switch on the light and write it down on some… Continue Reading “My Lovely Funeral”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
Recent Comments