Lemondrop.com http://www.lemondrop.com Lemondrop.com http://www.lemondrop.com/media/feedlogo.gif Lemondrop.com http://www.lemondrop.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Why I Chose to Get Arrested and Locked Up for Goodhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2009/02/03/why-i-chose-to-get-arrested-and-locked-up-for-good/http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/02/03/why-i-chose-to-get-arrested-and-locked-up-for-good/http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/02/03/why-i-chose-to-get-arrested-and-locked-up-for-good/#commentsFiled under: , ,


When you work with death on a daily basis, you have two choices: You can get depressed, or you appreciate life that much more. I'll confess it's not easy some days, but usually, I try really hard to go for door number two. And it seems like decent ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2009-02-03T12:00:00+00:00Life After (Writing About) Deathhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2009/01/13/life-after-writing-about-death/http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/01/13/life-after-writing-about-death/http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/01/13/life-after-writing-about-death/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


So, it's safe to say I really need to finish up my gig as an obits editor sooner rather than later. I am able to recognize people on the street based on whose grandmothers have just kicked it. A shiny new copy of "Death Becomes Her" was one of my ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2009-01-13T12:00:00+00:00Staying Quiet, Out of Respect for the Deadhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/23/silence-out-of-respect-for-the-dead/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/23/silence-out-of-respect-for-the-dead/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/23/silence-out-of-respect-for-the-dead/#commentsFiled under: , ,


While most of my work with the obituaries involves simply editing and formatting them, occasionally I'm called upon to write one. This is generally something I try to avoid like the plague. It's simple, really. I'm a self-involved 20-something who's ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-12-23T12:00:00+00:00Have a Nice Day ... Depending Where You Workhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/09/have-a-nice-day-depending-where-you-work/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/09/have-a-nice-day-depending-where-you-work/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/12/09/have-a-nice-day-depending-where-you-work/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Of course I say, "Have a nice day" to people. I worked in retail for a spell, so it's a reflex, and besides, it's as American as apple-pie-flavored pork rinds (why do these exist?). Unfortunately, it's not exactly the right comment when you are the ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-12-09T12:00:00+00:00Death: The Ultimate Party Foulhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/25/death-the-ultimate-party-foul/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/25/death-the-ultimate-party-foul/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/25/death-the-ultimate-party-foul/#commentsFiled under: , ,


As with many people, there are days when I feel like my job prevents me from having much of a life. There are the hours, the energy drain, the mental overload and, in my case, there's the small talk. "So what do you do?" Ah, that glorious ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-11-25T14:00:00+00:00Never Say 'Die'... Except in the Obitshttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/11/obit-writers-never-say-die/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/11/obit-writers-never-say-die/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/11/obit-writers-never-say-die/#commentsFiled under: , ,


One of the first items in my newspaper's style guidelines for obituaries reads as follows: "We use the word 'died' in obits." We don't say "passed away," "met his maker," "went off to be with the Lord," "'was promoted to glory" or anything like that ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-11-11T12:00:00+00:00Gallows Humor and the Death of the Dayhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/28/gallows-humor-and-the-death-of-the-day/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/28/gallows-humor-and-the-death-of-the-day/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/28/gallows-humor-and-the-death-of-the-day/#commentsFiled under: , ,


"Are there any cool dead people today?" It was a question I sickly relished hearing almost every morning at the obits desk during my first year of employment. The words would tumble shamelessly from the mouth of a certain sports editor. "Hmmm, ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-10-28T12:00:00+00:00Coming Face-to-Face with Life and Deathhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/14/living-proof-that-my-job-matters/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/14/living-proof-that-my-job-matters/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/14/living-proof-that-my-job-matters/#commentsFiled under: ,


After a mere few months as an obituary writer, I got disturbingly accustomed to saying things like, "Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to say that your grandmother was beloved, since that would be editorializing." It was very easy to forget the ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-10-14T12:00:00+00:00Finding the Right Words When Someone Dieshttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/30/finding-the-right-words-when-someone-dies/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/30/finding-the-right-words-when-someone-dies/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/30/finding-the-right-words-when-someone-dies/#commentsFiled under: , ,


I've always been of the mind that nothing adequate can be said when it comes to the loss of a loved one. For that reason, I never read the obits until I got a job editing them. Frick -- I never even attended services when I lost a friend or loved ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-09-30T12:00:00+00:00Meet the Duchess of Deathhttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/16/meet-the-duchess-of-death/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/16/meet-the-duchess-of-death/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/09/16/meet-the-duchess-of-death/#commentsFiled under: ,


When I started as the community editor of a small New England newspaper, basic survival was honestly what I had in mind. I had student loans to pay and an arts degree to my name, and while living at home for a few months after college got me some ... Read more

 

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]]>Elizabeth Lardie2008-09-16T12:00:00+00:00Lessons from the Obitshttp://www.lemondrop.com/2008/08/20/lessons-from-the-obits/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/08/20/lessons-from-the-obits/http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/08/20/lessons-from-the-obits/#commentsFiled under:


Elizabeth Lardie is an editor and columnist at a regional Maine newspaper. She spends her weekday mornings eating cold pad Thai, editing obituaries and wondering if she will figure out what to do with herself before her own obit appears in the paper. ... Read more

 

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]]>Lemondrop Staff2008-08-20T10:41:00+00:00