3 Wall Projectors On The Ceiling

Their certain facts in life that are beyond dispute. You’re born. The earth is round. You pay taxes. And you die.

That’s the start, where it happens, what you do, and the end.

It’s what happens in between the starting and ending points that gets interesting and can make a lasting impression past the end date.

By the time you’re in your 50s and 60s your social circle gets smaller, generally by design. And you also start going to more funerals than weddings.

On top of all the “normal” reasons that people die, the past couple of years has thrown a pandemic into the mix and has greatly increased the number of people that are no longer with us.

Not many of us can say that we don’t know of someone that has died from the pandemic since 2020.

There are still memories of refrigerated trailers sitting outside of hospitals holding the overflow of bodies.

Many families were denied the traditional funerals due to the health concerns.

The traditional “viewing” and “wake” have not been a possibility for 2020 and a good part of 2021 due to obvious health concerns.

Now as things are starting to get back to what looks to be a new “normal” those families are now seeking closure.

So, being the creative people that we are, many have revived, revised, and expanded the “Celebration of Life” event.

I don’t get out much myself. It’s by choice. My wife, Dr Teri does most of the “social” things.

However, there was a friend that I met late in my life. He was close to 20 years my senior.

He was another gumba from the old neighborhood in South Philly.

When we got together, I sat there almost in awe, as the stories flowed as he recounted the events of his youth and working life.

When the pandemic hit, he and his wife of close to 50 years, were exceptionally careful.

However, at some point they seemed to have been exposed and they both got sick form the pandemic.

She recovered. He passed quickly.

And last year yes, I left my quiet surroundings, and I attended his Celebration of Life.

A local funeral home had made some serious changes. Everything was lightened up. It was now a Celebration of Life facility.

It was interesting to see 70+ years of life displayed in pictures that overtook the walls and 6 ft tall displays that you would normally see at a home show’s vendor’s table.

They rewired the place and had 3 wall projectors on the ceiling showing continuous 3 x 6 foot pictures onto the nearby walls.

Food and drinks were there on site. More people were there than I’ve seen at some weddings.

And the stories flowed.

What he did from his starting point made a lasting impression well past his end date.

We should all be so fortunate to have made a string of decisions in our lives that will have a lasting good impression on others even when we are no longer here.

Dr Fred “Celebrating life” Rouse, CFP Emeritus

The REAL Money Doctor

DrRouseNow.com