Anyone else ever read the obituaries in your local paper?

[KitchenWitch]

Read it today and there were two entire families that were killed in accidents...very sad.

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. I used to write 'em.

Not a fun job.

[KitchenWitch]

2. That would have been a very sad job!

:(

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. You get used to it

They stop being people.

But once in awhile it's somebody you knew. Those are tough, especially when it's a kid.

[KitchenWitch]

4. I always thought the obits were written by a family member

except the ones for "notable people"

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Sometimes they are, but not often

Most times, you get the info from the funeral home. Then you've got to put it in a news format while still retaining some of the sentiment. (Note that I'm talking about free obits. Most papers charge now, and if they do you should be allowed to say anything you want.)

"Notable" people, or people with an unusual (newsworthy) life, that's different. A reporter's actually assigned to that, to dig up some background and get quotes from family and stuff. Those are really interesting to write, because bereaved people want to talk, and you find out some pretty neat stuff sometimes.

I did one once on a local woman who was the last person to speak her Indian tribe's native language. It was fascinating.

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

6. Sad Indeed

I use to have a neighbor who looked at obituaries looking to see if they still work and where then go apply if it was a decent job.

Myself use to be delivery driver for a florist, so I would look everyday while eating breakfast to see how many stops I would have for the day in my district.

[Jamastiene]

7. I usually do when I buy the paper, but for the next few weeks,

I want to avoid it. A guy here in town beat his 10 month old baby twin daughters very badly. One died and the other is in serious condition. I hate the feelings I get when I hear about stuff like that. Next thing you know, there will be people surrounding me telling me how "safe" small towns are. That always kills me.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. But don't you want to follow the scumsucker

as he goes through the judicial process and hopefully gets thrown in prison for the rest of his miserable, worthless life?

Or did you mean you just aren't gonna read the obits?

[Jamastiene]

10. The obits.

I don't want to get that cold feeling that comes from inside when I see horrid accounts of things like that. I feel for those kids. Child abuse is a common trait we share in this town. Child abuse is one of the biggest problems after drug abuse and domestic violence againts women. It's rampant here. Some of the things that have happened here are just fucking weird when it comes to disciplining children. Horrendous torture is more like it.

[Robeson]

9. No, my late grandmother's used to do that, and now my mother is....

...starting to do that, and frankly, I don't want to become my grandmother and mother. I'm too young!

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. I do every morning. If I'm not in there, I go about my daily routine.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Didn't Mark Twain say that?

[seaglass]

12. Yes. I once had a dream that my former best friend's dad had

died. It was in the obits the next day. Freaked me out. I didn't know he was ill and hadn't talked to my friend in 5 years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Occasionally.

I check to see if my old boyfriend is there yet. :evilgrin:

[DS1]

15. They're very difficult to masturbate to

but in all seriousness, I find them totally pointless, emotional masturbation if you will.

[Wetzelbill]

24. says you

:)

No, I never read 'em where I live now. Back home in MT the community is much smaller so I would always read them then, since chances are if I didn't know the person I knew somebody who did. Other than that they are pointless for most people. The death of a total stranger is an odd thing. Reading an obit of someone you never knew and have no feelings for, it's odd for me. As if I should be sad but I have no emotional tie to actually be so.

[In_The_Wind]

16. I did.

But I stopped because I was seeing way too may names I knew. :cry:

[auntAgonist]

17. yes .

I read the local paper online (local where I USED to live). Small community, so I often see the names of people associated with families I know or knew.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. I'm old enough so that people of my parents' generation, including

former teachers and members of the churches my father served, are starting to die off, and so are a few (still just a few) of my high school and college classmates.

I never used to read the obituaries either when I was younger. But now I'd rather know than not know that someone who was once part of my life is no longer with us.

[flamingyouth]

19. I used to read them religiously.

Lately, not as much.

[Heidi]

20. My first journalism internship

involved writing obits on the night desk at a daily newspaper. Talk about a job that naturally leads to dark humor. It grew me up quickly.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. I do glance through them....

Every now and then, I'll see one that is for someone we used to know...

A number of years ago, I was reading them, and the name of a former college room-mate of my husband's showed up. He was WAY too young to have died; of course I immediately told my husband.

We were in shock. The fellow had made a name for himself and was internationally known. I wrote a letter to his widow and we even got an invitation to the funeral. But we couldn't go; it was on the east coast.

It was horrifying......

I can't read the military ones. Those are way worse than the loss of our old friend, IMHO...:cry:

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

22. Funny story

Couple years back my grandparents started getting phone calls one morning from people they hadn't heard from in years, the first couple of times people would call and not leave a message on the answering machine, finally after like fourth time my grandmother calls one of the numbers back using caller ID. She calls one of the numbers back and it's a guy who worked with my grandfather, he's just like I'm sorry for your lose, I will be coming by the funeral home later today is there anything I can do for you, my grandother's like what are the hell are you talking about, the guy replies your husband I read his obit in the paper, she then informs him that my grandfather isn't dead he's sitting right next her. Turns out someone with the same name as him around the same age and who had a wife with the same name passed away, the obit was very vague and just gave the funeral home this guy was going to be shown at. I laugh now wondering how many people that knew my grandfather actually went to this man's showing or funeral and got up to the casket and realized this wasn't who they thought it was. :rofl:

[Jamastiene]

23. That would be creepy, but then again

looking at people in caskets (unless it's a vampire/goth movie) does creep me out.