Sunday, April 15, 2012

Departing Words

Not mine. In spite of my lack of recent blogging, I'm not going anywhere.

These departing words are from Michael "Flathead" Blanchard, from the obituary he appears to have written for himself, which appeared in the Denver Post on April 12, 2012.

Blanchard, Michael "Flathead"
1944 ~ 2012

A Celebration of the life of Michael "Flathead" Blanchard will be held on April 14th, 3 pm 8160 Rosemary St, Commerce City. Weary of reading obituaries noting someone's courageous battle with death, Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors' orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died.

There's more.

I love the defiance this describes. I can't quite relate (except for the stubbornness), but there's something compelling about someone who lives life on his own terms instead of meekly showing up to do what "they" tell him to do.

Life coaches, success instructors, and motivational speakers often encourage their audiences to write the eulogy they would like to have delivered at their own funeral. Then they're told to live in such a way as to make that true.

It looks like Mike did just that. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as though I'll get a chance to meet him after I'm gone. Such a shame...

1 comment:

Bekah said...

1. Don't scare me like that! I thought you were giving up blogging! 2. While NOT funny - for the reasons you mentioned at the end, I did giggle a bit because I know exactly the flowery obits of which you wrote....some of them are too much for me!