Last year I wrote my father's obit, which we also ran as a paid announcement in case the obit editor should choose to edit a line or two. It wasn't long, we just didn't want someone to screw with it.

The afternoon I struggled with the obit's content I took a break and went to a bookshop looking for a laugh. Spying the work of a favorite author, I bought a copy of Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case. The protagonist of Basket Case is an obit writer. So much for getting my head out of the game. I read the book anyway and laughed like hell.

A couple of months later we appeared on the same public radio show as Hiaasen. I told him the story of Basket Case and my dad's obit. Hiaasen got teary, then laughed like hell, then we both laughed.

It's strange territory. I don't knpw what any of the rules are. You just get through the best you can.

D