Spare Change

Daily Press Obit for Mom...and Gossip

Posted by Bryan

Here's the Craig daily press obituary for my mother. It was the one prepared by the mortuary.

Here's their forum on her death, that generated a bit of painful gossip, to which I responded. By all appearances, the same half-dozen people contribute to this, so it's not that big of a deal, but I've determined a new commitment to squash gossip at its source.

This past week, we went to nearby Steamboat Springs to take care of some photographic needs that couldn't be addressed in Craig, and while we ate at a restaurant, Kelli overheard the woman sitting behind us gossipping about mom. What the lady woman behind us didn't realize is that my bride has super-sonic hearing and is the queen of overhearing. She doesn't eavesdrop, but don't try to sneak anything by her, either. So Kelli got up to walk out of the restaurant she was so upset by the horrible things this woman was saying. And so I stood up, turned around, and called her on it.

I told her that I was the son of the woman of whom she was gossipping, and the things she was saying were wrong, hurtful, and offensive. She at first attempted to portray an amnesiac who had just been subjected to one of those mind-erasing Bic pens from the Men In Black movies. Then she yelled across the restaurant as we exited, "I wasn't talking about your mother!"

That's right, she was talking about that other woman whose death details were exactly like my mom's and whose named rhymed with Georgina.

I wasn't rude and I wasn't mean. I just won't tolerate it. Gossip is a poison that flows like sweet cream from the lips that speak it, only to curdle in the ears of those who receive it and sour the hearts and minds of anyone who comes into contact with it.

August 1, 2006 6:26 PM