http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824 When someone passes on, it's left to those who knew them well to compose an obituary. This piece generally will be the last words ever written about that person. For most of us, it's usually just the facts of our transit through this life: where and when we were born; education; where we worked; any special hobbies or achievements in life; culminating in who we're survived by. For the most part, it's pretty bland stuff ... unless. Unless, you've lived the life that Delores Aguilar did and the person who en-us Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:50:53 EST Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:00:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#7      Like all forms of writing, obituaries have formal considerations, both in the strict sense (ie stay on topic, mention what they did, and so on), and the cultural sense (remembrances are for those surviving, and the content should consid Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:00:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#6     And Disch, like other suicides, opened the door for a more honest appraisal than your typical obit, at least IMO. Everybody dies; not everyone kills themself, and it's a natural reaction to wonder, A) why they did it and B) what might have be Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:30:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#5 As far back as Shakespeare's time (Marc Anthony's 'friends romans countrymen' speech) and perhaps even before, people have been using the death of others as a soapbox to 'speak truth'. <p> Orson Scott Card, that hate filled mormon and writer of sci-fi clas Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:06:04 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#4 I agree with you.  It is my sense that the author of this obituary was not trying to make Disch look bad, and indeed, was on the whole very appreciative of him as a writer, but also was giving an honest appraisal of a man who did have a troubled life. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:22:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#3 <i>this long, rambling, mean-spirited remembrance of the writer Thomas Disch</i><p> I don't know, that obit didn't really seem mean-spirited to me, just a lamentation of regrets. You know, an honest appraisal is better than sugar-coating, to my mind. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:09:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#2 Surprised nobody's mentioned <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/thompson02212005.html">this famous zing-filled and justifiably nasty obit.</a><p> Some choice quotes:<p> <blockquote><i>"If the right people had been in charge of Nixon's fune Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:35:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/8/19/162238/824#1 If you really want to know the truth about the life of someone who has died, that falls within the realm of the journalist or historian, although of course, most people do not live the kind of lives which are important enough to merit the attention of a jo Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:04:11 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/