Face Book as a visitation
We've all been to visitations at funeral homes. The bereaved family stands near the door for two hours, people come in and line up to shake their hands and express their condolences, then go off to look at the photos, and/or the body and chat. Maybe the funeral home staff bring chairs and water for the bereaved At the end they are exhausted, and don't remember much about what happened.
We all do things differently and in saying that wouldn't have worked for me is not meant to suggest that it is not valid and meaningful for others.
David died on Saturday morning, and I waited until Sunday evening to make a public announcement for many valid reasons. (And, as my mum used to say, "You're a long time dead," so there was no huge rush.)
My children and I all shared the news on FB; most of us are fairly active on that platform and have large circles of FB friends. I also posted it on David's FB page. Friends shared the announcements and photos on their own pages. Then the responses poured in. People I didn't yet know wrote on David's page, and hundreds of people from our church, work, music and paddling communities wrote to our children and to me. Simple, kind words, with memories of David. Some had never even met him, but knew what a difference he had made in our lives
People had time to think about what they wanted to write. I can read the those comments forever. It allowed folks to be in touch with each other, and there was some wonderful sharing on his page between friends who had last been together in university in the 1970's. People wrote from Ottawa, Vancouver, Austin, San Diego, Seattle, Michigan, Israel, and many other places.
For us it worked. Six weeks later there was a concert and party. In September, nobody felt like singing.
We all do things differently and in saying that wouldn't have worked for me is not meant to suggest that it is not valid and meaningful for others.
David died on Saturday morning, and I waited until Sunday evening to make a public announcement for many valid reasons. (And, as my mum used to say, "You're a long time dead," so there was no huge rush.)
My children and I all shared the news on FB; most of us are fairly active on that platform and have large circles of FB friends. I also posted it on David's FB page. Friends shared the announcements and photos on their own pages. Then the responses poured in. People I didn't yet know wrote on David's page, and hundreds of people from our church, work, music and paddling communities wrote to our children and to me. Simple, kind words, with memories of David. Some had never even met him, but knew what a difference he had made in our lives
People had time to think about what they wanted to write. I can read the those comments forever. It allowed folks to be in touch with each other, and there was some wonderful sharing on his page between friends who had last been together in university in the 1970's. People wrote from Ottawa, Vancouver, Austin, San Diego, Seattle, Michigan, Israel, and many other places.
For us it worked. Six weeks later there was a concert and party. In September, nobody felt like singing.
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