[Olive Archer's] lonely death, of a stroke five days before Christmas, drew comparisons with Eleanor Rigby, the subject of a Beatles song about a woman who was "buried along with her name. Nobody came"....This should inspire new hope for all the lonely people... if they are beautiful.
The Rev Akasha Lonsdale, was so dismayed at the prospect of being the sole witness at the funeral on January 14 in Swindon, Wiltshire, she launched an appeal in her local newspaper on New Year's Eve.....
"The response to the campaign has been touching. I hope it can raise awareness of the plight of elderly people. There is a bigger question to be considered here in terms of social services provisions for the old."
Lonsdale's campaign gathered momentum when she found an old photograph of Archer at the home, when she had what she described as "film-star" looks.
January 6, 2008
"Family of 'Eleanor Rigby' will go to burial."
A headline today, from Scotland.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
21 comments:
Ol' Olive must have been an odious person to have been both beautiful and alone! How much hope does that inspire?
First of all, she was 83. To be alone at that age is very common. Second, the "lonely" description has been imposed on her by outsiders and is something of an intrusion on her privacy. She didn't choose to say she was lonely, and she may have preferred the single life. Third, you don't know where her beauty took her emotionally. She might have mistrusted men who were interested in her. She might have been a lesbian. She might have had her fill of attention and chosen a solitary life. The assumption that she must have been odious... is odious.
It's no less odious than the notion that new hope should be inspired in lonely people...if they are beautiful.
I suggest everyone spend an hour or two visiting folks in the assisted care facility in their neighborhood. There are fabulous people there who love talking to anyone who walks in with a cheery "How's it going?" Having a yorkshire terrier helps immensely.
There are many veterans who represent the best of American patriotism. The ration of women to men usually runs about 3 to 1. It is worth the time it takes for a walk-through.
The people you see there are beautiful. If you close your eyes for a moment the person in the bed looking back is...YOU!
GOD bless caregivers and caring friends and families. Most of us will be in a similar situation one day. All you will have is what you see, who you see, and memories as you ride the final turn on the carousel of life.
I think fear of dying alone must be held by those afraid of being alone. It's a soap opera theme.
I don't think there are any lonely mathematicians. Human contact once a year is a surplus.
If women are living with men out of fear of dying alone, it's probably not going to work. The men go first, generally.
The men go first
The men are escaping.
This post reminded me of two things. First, a fairly recent TV show about Arlington National Cemetery and these older ladies who volunteer to accompany anyone who shows up alone to visit a gravesite. I got kind of choked up at the thought but I might have been drinking.
Second, I was reminded of the primal human need for companionship and the sometimes crazy things we do to keep from being alone. And that brought me to Hillary’s lagging run for the Democratic Party nomination.
Obama’s got the hope thing all locked up but there’s still a campaign theme she might try when it’s time for a Hail Mary pass to the end zone. Here it is. Hey, don’t laugh, it’s worked before!
Thanks, Bissage. I've been reading/rereading Kurt Vonnegut (since his death).
This story really strikes a chord with you, doesn't it?
For good reason...
BTW, that bit below, where you acted like Frank Luntz wasn't a bought-and-paid-for wingnut shill, was classic Blithering Idiot.
Throw in the refusal to mention he's working for Faux, and the usual Blithering Idiot misogyny, and it's obvious that New Year's resolution to stay off the booze is all over now!
"Olive Archer, 83, who bore no children and never married, will be buried later this month with as many as five of her family present."
Mark Steyn would have a field day with that statement? It sounds like a common future for Europeans.
Er, I meant to say "Wouldn't Mark Steyn have a field day with that statement..."
"You don't know where her beauty took her emotionally. She might have mistrusted men who were interested in her. She might have been a lesbian. She might have had her fill of attention and chosen a solitary life."
Sadly, as one of the beautiful people, I too have been misunderstood.
Girls, even though I'm incredibly handsome and have a great pair of manly legs, I often want to be alone to blog on the internet. Beauty *is* a burden.
That is why this single aging female indulges the young nephews who will be picking my nursing home and planning my funeral.
Live fast, die old and leave a disgusting corpse, because you had so much fun while you living fast and dying old.
"I hope it can raise awareness of the plight of elderly people. There is a bigger question to be considered here in terms of social services provisions for the old."
I may be misreading this, as "social services provisions" may mean something different in Britain than in the U.S. But it sounds like the good reverend thinks the government needs to provide visitors and mourners for old people.
If Miss Archer spent the last five years in (what sounds like) a retirement or nursing home, wouldn't any of her friends or acquaintances or fellow bingo players attend her funeral? For that matter, aren't C of E ministers supported by taxes? Rev. Lonsdale is an "interfaith minister", so perhaps she doesn't get tax money. Tho the concept of an interfaith minister sure sounds like something a government would invent.
So: demographic issues, calls for more government social services, by a (possibly) government-paid generic priest. The Wolf is right, Mark Steyn would have a field day.
Funerals are for the living, not the deceased. If Olive did not have anyone to pray over her casket, then it's only Fr. MacKenzie who will suffer the loneliness of that day.
Then he has to wash his socks.
[kaff]
Darn his socks.
You're right.
Darnit.
Post a Comment