What the Dead Woman Heard

Exercise: What the Dead Woman Heard

From my vantage point in the corner near the ceiling of the funeral home….

“Dearly Beloved, we have gathered today to celebrate the life (and death) of our departed friend and family member.

What can we say about her?

She was a resident of the City of the Angels all her life, was an artist and writer who had the same day-job for 26 years, read a lot, particularly trashy romances novels and treatises on theology, had an emerald green aura and a really screwed up root chakra, claims she saw a UFO, practiced Tai Chi Chuan, was a “by the book” parishioner who, more than once, got caught belly-dancing in the parish hall, collected Mexican folk art, enjoyed libraries, museums, and theatre, enjoyed action/adventure films and could talk to you for three straight hours on what happened on last night’s episode of “Lost”, would tell you exactly what she thought straight to your face, then turn around and say ‘I got your back,’ (and you knew she meant it both times), was a bookstore junkie in recovery, an unrepentent java-fiend, a royal pain in the butt, and someone we will never forget.

Okay, let’s eat.”

And with that, I wafted to the other side.

Lori Gloyd (c) April 17, 2006