![\"How](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Ebola.jpg\")
<\/a>How I started my morning<\/p><\/div>\n
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it very hard to find any good news<\/strong> these days. \u00a0This morning our local paper was a virtual smorgasbord\u00a0of bad tidings….ebola, ISIS, a volatile stock market…all things that are probably in your newspaper as well. \u00a0In addition to the scary national and world news, I also have to absorb all of the LOCAL bad news. \u00a0Today’s lowlights include stories about an 8-year-old found starving in a drug den, the shooting of a police officer and more layoffs at a major employer. \u00a0As if all that weren’t enough, my favorite ice cream parlor has closed! \u00a0Some days it’s just too much to handle. \u00a0I admit that I am a\u00a0dinosaur\u00a0<\/em>when it comes to getting my news – I still like a newspaper. \u00a0I guess it comes from being the daughter of a newspaper publisher. \u00a0I suppose I could limit my reading to the more frivolous fare downloaded on my iPad so my day could start with TMZ reports or updates on Pinterest. \u00a0I would probably be a lot happier, albeit less informed. \u00a0But for now I’m sticking to the printed page and I have found a spot where I can consistently find good news: \u00a0the obituaries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I need to state right off that there are definitely categories of obituaries that are NOT uplifting. \u00a0Any notice about children is tragic on the face of it and often brings a tear to my eye. \u00a0I also feel for the people who die “before their time”, although I guess if they’ve died it was\u00a0<\/i>their time. \u00a0My definition of dying too young has changed a bit over the years. \u00a0I used to think that anyone who died before age 60 was sad but not completely unexpected. \u00a0Now as I approach Senior Citizenship, I’ve decided that anyone who dies before they get to collect their Social Security checks<\/strong> has died too young. \u00a0After all, if you make contributions all of those years and never get to collect, then it really was a bad deal and you could have spent that money on wine, (wo)men and song. \u00a0Luckily, the vast majority of obituaries are written about people who are well past Social Security and most of them have lived pretty darn interesting lives. \u00a0In fact, rather than finding the obituaries depressing, I think of them as living history – reading about the people who were part of our community and how they fit into the fabric of our lives.<\/p>\n A typical obit picture of a man who died in his 80’s<\/p><\/div>\n I love the quarter-page obits, where you learn interesting tidbits such as where the deceased went to grammar school and what their favorite type of pie was. \u00a0But even the ordinary tributes often give a wonderful insight into a life well-led. \u00a0Today there was a notice about a woman who was described as outgoing, loved a good card game with her family, took part in an animal rescue organization and danced with a senior citizens group. \u00a0Makes me wish that I had known her. \u00a0 I did read one recently that listed EVERY job the man held at an oil company over a thirty year career; that was a bit over the top even for me. \u00a0The best obituaries are generally written by children and include great tributes to the departed’s love of family, favorite jokes or legacy of examples set. \u00a0These days there are a dwindling number of obits about WWII veterans<\/strong> but being somewhat of a connoisseur of the well-written obit, I assure you that they are almost ALWAYS the most interesting. \u00a0Often they include the theaters of operations the person served in, the major battles, and oftentimes something about how fond the deceased was of his fellow “buddies”. \u00a0As if to prove just how important those years were, the photo accompanying the story is not of the person in old age, but as they looked during their time in service 60 years ago. \u00a0Of course, obituary pictures in general should never be relied on for accuracy since most people choose a photo that resembles them only on the most flattering day of their lives. \u00a0There was a decade or so where those old “glamour shots” were a popular obit choice and believe me, nothing looks more out-of-place than a story about an 89-year-old woman accompanied by a picture with the wind machine blowing so hard she looks like a dog with its head out the window.<\/p>\n Finally, there are the truly humorous final notices. \u00a0Generally these have been written by the deceased and serve to set a tone of how they wish to be remembered. \u00a0There was one circulating on Facebook this past summer about a ex-advertising man in Pennsylvania who wrote, “Kevin J. McGroarty, 53, of West Pittston, died Tuesday, July 22, 2014, after battling a long fight with mediocrity.” \u00a0He went on to explain about his mis-spent youth and exhorted his friends “don’t email me anymore, I’m dead”. \u00a0It was a fairly long piece and you get the feeling that Mr. McGroarty took great pleasure crafting it in his final days. \u00a0That’s a luxury, I suppose, that we all would like to have.<\/p>\n So as you read the paper or watch the news over the next few days and you begin to feel depressed, turn to the obituary page. \u00a0I promise you’ll find something to boost your spirits, inspire your day or, if you’re really lucky, make you laugh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it very hard to find any good news these days. \u00a0This morning our local paper was a virtual smorgasbord\u00a0of bad tidings….ebola, ISIS, a volatile stock market…all things that … read more<\/a>