Eulogy

Today, as I look out and see the neighbour's tree turning yellow and sparkling in the sunshine, I am reminded that the seasons change and we all have our turn on this sphere. As those readers who read yesterday's entry know, my friend Charlie passed away on Monday at the age of 97. After a flurry of activity, I now have time to reflect and prepare a eulogy, something that I have never done before. I have certainly been to funerals and memorials, the most recent last week when I heard the poem, Dash for the first time. I have two days and unlike the many unrehearsed talks that I give at my chamber and orchestral concerts, I want to make sure that I do not end feeling that I did not do his life justice.

Computers are wonderful. I checked for the definition of Eulogy: and found that the Eulogy is an opportunity to praise a person at a funeral or even before the person has passed on which I think is nice because rarely do people have the chance to find out what people think of them and others to honour them. While searching the web, I found an oration that was given at Graham Chapman's funeral and it ends with members of the Monty Python troop and others singing the song about life from the Life of Brian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU19euwEe3k&feature=relatedNice to be able to laugh at a time like this.

Time to collect my thoughts and organize my memories.