Condolences, GC and GF.
I just sent out a few emails about community-supported agriculture programs around DC. I feel all eco-friendly now.
My heart expands / 'tis grown a bulge in't / inspired by / your beauty effulgent.
William ,'Conversations with Dead People'
Spike's Bitches 39: Cuppa Tea, Cuppa Tea, Almost Got Shagged, Cuppa Tea...
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Hil R. - Jan 31, 2008 4:32:45 pm PST #4928 of 10001
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
askye - Jan 31, 2008 4:34:08 pm PST #4929 of 10001
Thrive to spite them
(( GC & GF and family))
Pix - Jan 31, 2008 4:40:06 pm PST #4930 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.
Love, peace and strength to GC and GF and family.
amych - Jan 31, 2008 4:49:07 pm PST #4931 of 10001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
I'm so sorry. My love to you all.
Java cat - Jan 31, 2008 4:59:33 pm PST #4932 of 10001
Not javachik
Sympathies to GC and GF.
Experiences at memorial services, if you still want some ideas: An in-house smallish memorial (~30 people.) A table set up with photos of the person, albums, things that like. A notebook or other book to write down memories of the person + writer's name (address if it's wanted). One person to read a poem or a prayer, then raise a glass and toast the departed. Others to speak if they want.
Larger/in church: similar, but with family members going to pulpit to talk about the person.
One big tip, have the last person who speaks, if there's a family line-up, for example, be someone who can tell a story about something amusing and/or wonderful that the departed said or did. If people laugh or smile, it prompts them to remember similar things and tell them, which, it's cool to get other's people's experience of a family member.
Scrappy - Jan 31, 2008 5:01:17 pm PST #4933 of 10001
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
So sorry, GC. My very best wishes to you and GF and family.
When my dad died, we went through all of our photo albums and made big boards covered with photos of him at all stages of life. We tried to pick lots of candid ones which showed his personality. I know people really liked those. We also divided the eulogies up by theme--one person spoke about my dad's personality, one on his accomplishments, one on his friendship. After the services, we all gave my mother copies of our speeches, and put them in a really pretty book, which she added all the condolence notes she got over the next couple of weeks to. She still looks at that book a lot six years later, and it gives her a lot of comfort
omnis_audis - Jan 31, 2008 5:37:55 pm PST #4934 of 10001
omnis, pursue. That's an order from a shy woman who can use M-16. - Shir
Condolences, GC and GF.
An idea for you. Here at our theater, we've had a number of memorial services these past few years. Are there any groups/organizations that he was involved with? Lions Club? Masons? A theater? Golf Course? Often these places have a congregating room that might be nice.
Liese S. - Jan 31, 2008 5:48:30 pm PST #4935 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
Condolences, GC. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Make sure you take care of yourself too, in addition to taking care of GF.
§ ita § - Jan 31, 2008 5:55:13 pm PST #4936 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
GC, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I wish you and yours all the peace in the world.
libkitty - Jan 31, 2008 6:17:00 pm PST #4937 of 10001
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs
I'm so sorry for your and your GF's loss, GC. May he rest in peace.
Since a religious ceremony is not preferred, perhaps a friend might be willing to step in as a sort of MC. Sometimes it's best to ask someone who wasn't a close friend of her father, but rather a friend of someone else in the family, so that it's someone trusted, but not overwhelmed by the situation.