[Magdalen] RIP Dorothy Mengering, 95.

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

You are absolutely right, of course, but I was sad when Mom died, one month
into her one-hundredth year of life. She had serious mobility issues, and
her memory was not good, but Mom was still Mom, and it meant the loss of
the last link to that entire generation, and I was sad, even though for Mom
it was a terrific release from her earthly trials.

It's a matter of attitude, to a large extent. I still remember a scene from
Northern Exposure when the bar owner, Holling Vancouer, is talking
wistfully about his relationship with his live-in girlfriend, Shelley.
Holling has often observed how the Vancouers are notoriously long-lived.
He's about sixty and she's about twenty, and in the course of the
conversation, he makes a sad reference to that day "When I have to bury
Shelley."  He did it so deadpan, it took a minute for the "wait, what?"
response.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 9:26 AM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 4/13/2017 1:07:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> mjl at ix.netcom.com writes:
>
> >>>I saw one headline about her death under the banner,  "Letterman
> Endures
> Great Tragedy."  Actually, what a long,  wonderful life for this lady,  and
> her life to 95 should be looked  upon as a triumph and blessing  rather
> than a great tragedy  IMHO.<<<
>
> Said banner is, of course, a bit over the top.   A much-beloved lady
> reaches the venerable age of 95, and her death is a  "tragedy"?  Well, one
> must
> consider how old Dave is, and how long he's  had that wonderful lady in his
> life.  Whenever "my Mom, Dorothy!", Dave's  "Special Correspondent" on the
> field, was featured, Anna and I would whoop and  holler, we thought her so
> great.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
>
> I stuck a foot in my mouth once when I sang in the local Procathedral
> Choir.  A soprano had lost her 97 year old grandmother, and there  was
> much mourning and discussion of her death by choir
> members for several weeks.
>
> Finally, I interjected that I had never had the opportunity to know ANY  of
> my grandparents since they all died in the 1920's before I was born,  and
> that the soprano's  family should rejoice in this grandma's long  life.
>
> Even after these weeks of mourning, this message was not what the  soprano
> wanted to hear, and I was urged to apologize to her.  I didn't.   At least
> the
> wailing over her death ceased!
>
>
>
> David S.
>