Reunion on a budget

Feeling nostalgic? Cooler weather, earlier dark bringing out the melancholy in you? Been missing old friends?

Maybe what you need is a serendipitious get together, a time to connect with people you haven't seen in a while. Wouldn't a low-key party be fun?

Oh, but "How will I find those people from my past, those I have fond memories of, but no address for anymore?" you may say.

Obituation is the way to go. Invitations are used primarly for planned events when you want to include friends who are presently living in your same plane of existence. Obituation is a magnet for everyone else. It's cheap, and rather unpredictable, as you just never know who might show up.

Here's how it works- Call the local paper and ask to speak to the Deaths and obituary section chief. Give a short bio of whoever you want to call the "party target" and send a pic if you have one. List a conveniently located church and say "Visitation at (X) time." Then, run over to the grocery, pick up a few bags of chips and dip, high tail it over to the church parking lot and wait.

You will see people you haven't seen in years, AND their dogs, neighbors and friends. Redirect them when they pull in and the rest will happen on its own. Curiosity will bring some into the lair, unresolved issues mingle among a few attendees, and the rest tag along with a bag of mixed guilt over not saying this or that or not keeping us as they should. The turn around from sad to glad doesn't take long. and before you know it, you've got a full blown reunion!!!

We had something like this recently at church. Someone who had lived here long ago, had left the country and had not been heard from or seen for several decades. For some reason, the remaining family had decided that Mrs. Argyle should return to the states for her permanent nap. She had belonged here when the church was first built, in the late 1800's, but hadn't been seen since. On the day of the funeral , I was surprised to see the parking lot overflowing with autos.

What surprised me even more was the licence plates. Oregon, Virginia, California. Wow. I wonder how they knew? Then I wondered if maybe the out of state visitors were really party crashers, maybe they didn't know Mrs. Argyle at all, they just wanted to get in on the visitation and see what kind of fashion statement was being made. Maybe these people were like storm chasers, only they chased funeral gigs. I got so interested in wondering about this, that I forgot we were honoring a very deserving individual who had lived a long long, long long life.

I walked inside the church and stood at the door to the sanctuary and looked through the glass door. The casket was open and I saw just the tip of a nose reaching up from the satin bed. I had heard that when you got older, your nose kept growing and your ears, too, I guess it's true. AT least the nose part. It was kind of creepy having a body when today, most people go the ashes route. I felt sad for the people in ARgyle's life who lost their friend, relative, whatever. I wondered what she was like when her nose was younger. Where had she been, what had she been doing all those years away from her homeplace? Did she mind that after all that time away, she still ended up right here where she began? Some things I guess we'll never know.