Inspired by another thread: weird death commemorations.

[hedgehog]

My in-laws insist on remembering the death days of everyone they know. It's getting worse as they get older and more people they know have died. What are you supposed to say when the comment is so-and-so died on this day? The worst yet - a friend of the family died in his eighties after a brief illness. The death watch was pretty bad. You wouldn't believe the discussions about how bad the fellow was doing and whether the minister had the real goods or the cover story and whether the doctors were lying. That segued into a discussion about whether the fellow's kids were being properly respectful sleeping at home instead of the hospital, etc. Anyways, the subject came up at Thanksgiving and the comment was made to my husband "Too bad so-and-so died on your birthday." It was like they felt that he could have had the courtesy of dying on a different day! I was prompted to send a card, which I would have done anyways. Then the widow was apparently quizzed to make sure she got the card!