The Obituary Project

A good friend, B, called me a while back to get some pertinent information to include in my eulogy. He said he had been working on it, and realized there were some gaps that needed to be filled in. I filled them in, but felt compelled to inform him that my death, so far as I know, is not imminent. Nonetheless, I do not doubt that B's eulogy---when the time comes to give it---will be great. He really likes me, and I like to think that I am sometimes as smart and funny and wise as he thinks I am. Of course, I am not, and he knows it, but our friendship has endured this indiscretion for more than twenty-five years.

But his call got me thinking about my friends and how we're getting older and how one of us will be the first to die. We've all been friends for a long time: one of us was the first to grow a high-top fade, one of us was the first to cut it off; one of us was the first to transition from tight jeans to baggy jeans, and someone else was the first to wear a suit to work; one was the first to graduate from college and someone else the first to get a graduate degree. Who got married first? Who has the oldest kid? Who will be the first to die? As with all other major events in the lives of my friends, I will share this with them too. Unless I beat them to it.

So, in the event that happens, I will eulogize my boys over the next several days in all honesty and in no particular order. However, I will not call to get details. That's creepy.