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I went to my grandfather's memorial service this past Sunday out in Chicago at the university chapel. We had many concerns about who would show up, whether anyone would get punched, etc. As it was, I had a blast, actually. Is that a bad thing to say about your last surviving grandparent's memorial service? It was really fun! During the service I cried some, mourning the loss of a very cool man and scientist, and also with boredom at his colleagues who basically took the opportunity to spend five minutes giving an oral CV for a dead man. A new rule for memorial services: the word "pancreas" should never be mentioned more than once. An old rule for memorial services that still stands the test of time: academics should get 4 minutes or less to speak about their lost colleague.
The fun part was after the service, when the food and the wine was going, and everyone stood around talking with each other. A warning: If you are someone who compartmentalizes your life beyond a certain level, people will sift through all the clues to figure you out at your funeral. You may not mind this, being dead, but don't think people won't compare notes.
Things I discovered, in no particular order:
-My grandfather only had 2 students whose academic fate he was officially responsible for in a 40+ year career. This is apparently remarkable.
-My grandfather liked to go drink cheap beer and eat greasy food at a bar next door to the university dialysis clinic for the irony, as well as to be hard-core and cheapskatey.
-He greased down his hair because he hated having curly/wavy hair (much as I do) and people in his lab would refer to the greasy stain left on a wall or chair to be a "Paul-print".
-His one expressed wish for his memorial service was that "Thus Spake Zarathustra" be played at it.
-For a wedding gift for one of his grad students, he gave them a pirated, unlabelled porn video. He shoved it in the bride's hands, said "It's a classic." and never said anything about it again.
-naked baby-butt-bathing pictures were taken in 1916.
-I look like my great-grandfather, only less buff and without a late-19th-century center part.
-My grandfather was proud of me and loved me.
The fun part was after the service, when the food and the wine was going, and everyone stood around talking with each other. A warning: If you are someone who compartmentalizes your life beyond a certain level, people will sift through all the clues to figure you out at your funeral. You may not mind this, being dead, but don't think people won't compare notes.
Things I discovered, in no particular order:
-My grandfather only had 2 students whose academic fate he was officially responsible for in a 40+ year career. This is apparently remarkable.
-My grandfather liked to go drink cheap beer and eat greasy food at a bar next door to the university dialysis clinic for the irony, as well as to be hard-core and cheapskatey.
-He greased down his hair because he hated having curly/wavy hair (much as I do) and people in his lab would refer to the greasy stain left on a wall or chair to be a "Paul-print".
-His one expressed wish for his memorial service was that "Thus Spake Zarathustra" be played at it.
-For a wedding gift for one of his grad students, he gave them a pirated, unlabelled porn video. He shoved it in the bride's hands, said "It's a classic." and never said anything about it again.
-naked baby-butt-bathing pictures were taken in 1916.
-I look like my great-grandfather, only less buff and without a late-19th-century center part.
-My grandfather was proud of me and loved me.