The Reluctant Eulogist

I've a new assignment: Moderator and Content Manager for an Adult Social Network. So far, it's been a lot of work, but dull? Not in the least. I've been quite busy writing FAQ's, How To's, and reviewing a data base of over 12,000 members. More on that as I get settled.

But first, I had to create an obituary for the creator of the site. He had passed a year ago. At the time, I asked one of my predecessors if an announcement should be made.....and was told solidly 'no'. I guess death isn't acknowledged among the hedonistic bohemian cyber-cafe society of ours.

But now that I'm working the reception desk, I can make my own rules. and accessing a dead man's profile was my first bit of creepy but necessary business. Deleting all photos except his profile picture, all his files, all his xxx-rated videos. His death was an HIV-related one, not an overdose, and I felt he wouldn't mind.

Next, I updated his 'about me' with a brief review of how the site came to be, how he persevered to get it up and keep it running. when in a mere 6 months he would be dead.

Death is the only promise guaranteed when we are born. It's inevitable. But also flexible, and no one really knows when it's our time to go.  My father's health was poor and we were totally prepared for his death: only to see him outlive my mother, grandmother and a few other relatives. There is the story of the New York Times reporter who penned a "pre-need" obit for Elizabeth Taylor in 1999, but he did not live to see it published. He died in 2005, 6 years before Taylor.
To paraphrase from my favorite 80's film, Parting Glances, "I bet (death) sucks even when you're 80."

When I stumbled into the party that is cyber-cafe society, everything was upbeat and moving at full throttle. How foolish of me to think that the River Styx didn't run nearby.

I'm honored to stand up and speak about those who depart this world for the next, and to give some authenticity and personality to a screen name, an image, a persona.

I hope I will be as fortunate, when that time comes.