March 2005

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As I've told you before, the law firm represents the estates of several decedents whose families are elsewhere or non-existent, and that in doing so we receive mail addressed to those decedents. Sometimes, it's not so easy to get the decedents off mailing lists of one sort or another. Just in the two days of this week there have been several things of note.

One decedent apparently had varied interests. Among the entities from which she receives mail are an organization dedicated to ecological causes and an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the elderly.

This week, the eco group wanted the client to respond to a mailing that included at least one non-recyclable item, and several other items that had to be carefully separated for recycling. And that annoys me for some reason. This group above all others should aim to make recycling as simple as possible, and combining several different kinds of recyclable materials into one mailing fell far short of simple.

The organization for enriching the lives of the elderly, on the other hand, sent a simple-to-recycle advertisement. For life insurance. We believe the decedent would no longer be eligible for this, because of death.

Another decedent's estate has been closed for a long time now, and most advertisers have given up on getting any more business from him. But today he got a notice about rates for his cable television service. We don't think he plans to resubscribe. But if I hear otherwise, you'll be among the first to know!

* * * * * * * * * * *

Today I had a chance to congratulate my recovering friend on nine months of sobriety, with a hug. That hug was followed by one of the more profound conversations I've had, in which my friend said of the nine months, "I made it!"

I replied, "Yes, you did!"

Nothing else on earth needed saying. We both knew this was a moment in the rest of a lifetime, with battles that will be won one moment at a time. A moment worthy of note? Absolutely.