I'm in the midst of a happy task -- assembling family geneaology records for a cousin in Maryland. Her grandmother is Rosalie "Podie" Sasscer, my father's sister and my late aunt. Faithful readers may recall a recent post mentioning a small bust of Robert E. Lee given to me by Aunt Podie. That's what prompted my cousin to ask if I could send her a copy of my dad's rather voluminous documentation. I'm glad to do it. It's been a pleasant experience for me to revisit the pages of our family history.
While photocopying and scanning this and that, I came across a hand-written note from Podie to my father, sent shortly before her death in 1994. It's her instructions for her funeral, and it's a classic. Sounds like a lovely send-off, and I share it here for the record:
Dear Jerry,
I am sending you this; also, I am attaching a copy to my will.
A synopsis of my funeral: 25 people at my house. God and life-after-death are not to be mentioned. A string quartet will play two beautiful pieces; someone will read something from Keats. That's it! Total time: 20 minutes.
Then cocktails with great hors-d'oeuvres; luncheon with Crab Imperial, old ham, etc. A great day! I'm really sorry I will have to miss it.
If you all do not carry out my wishes pre-cise-ly, ex-act-ly, you are going to be haunted by green goblins and things that go bump in the night.
Happy Days!
Love,