Obituaries

I've just read his obituary. It was a lengthy article from the Toronto Star and right in the middle of it there is a picture of him standing alone and smiling at the camera. He stood beside a Superman image. How his family must treasure that photo now. We never think about the potential impact of a photo. We try to capture a moment whose significant is never truly known... until something tragic happens. By the touching accounts from his family and friends, he was a super man.

As I read the details of this near stranger, it struck me that writing this type of obituary would be a tough job. How can a person be summarized in so many words or less? I don't envy the writer who had to describe the soul of a man who meant the world to so many. How difficult was it to gather information from love ones when the pain is still so fresh and raw? The writer interviewed his younger brother, someone we went to high school with. That made it hit closer to home somehow, seeing his name in the obituary. My sadness for his family grows.