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Life span

Necroloques reveal why we died

Ambiorn Happy
Fridag in Aarhus

I have written quite a few necroloques. That's how it was once. Sitting in front of a screen with green letters, I wrote stories about the city's dead people. Where they were born. What education they received. Their marriage. The children. A whole life written down to 100-200 words.

Necroloques are not popular

- you could say that. There were 5 of us in the newspaper's editorial office. 2-3 times a week the editorial assistant danced up the stairs and placed an obituary on the local editor's desk. It was stapled to a sheet of paper where someone in the advertising department had written the names and telephone numbers of the relatives. We ducked our necks and waited.

- Ambiorn, do you want to take this?

Oh no, I thought.

- Yes, I'll take it, I replied.

Because that's how it was. Everyone on the editorial staff had to write necroloques, because no one likes it. We had to share the dead ones.

I learned to respect the necroloques

We didn't call the wife. But a sister, a mother, a child. It was a bit awkward for a young man to call and disturb people in their mourning. But that's how they wanted it, the residents of the city. Back then it was important to be written about in the newspaper. You weren't really dead until there was an obituary and a necroloque in the newspaper.

I was happy about listening to their life stories. My colleagues wrote fewer necroloques and I got a little extra. It is interesting to hear about why we live and eventually die. I took great efforts in portraying the person's life and deeds in an honest and at the same time beautiful way. It happened occasionally that the editorial assistant brought linguistic flowers up the stairs for me.

- I have a compliment to you from Mrs. Jensen, she thanks you for the necroloque, Ambiorn. She was very happy with it.

- Mrs. Jensen?

- Kristian Jensen, you wrote about him yesterday.

- Well, thank you!

3 claps with the fish

Besides hearing about many people's wonderful lives and good experiences, I also heard about the people who died for unnecessary reasons.

Many people die from being hit hard by fate 3 times. First you are...
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