When an old man dies ...
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381739)
Rockingham, Australia
February 18, 2025 8:06am CST
We went to my BIL’s (brother-in-law’s) yesterday. My SIL was there too. Two older brothers died within a day of each other and we needed to put a death notice in the local newspaper.
The SIL (we call her the matriarch) had an interesting quote that she thought would be appropriate and it’s now been used in the notice. The African saying says, in one way or another, ‘When an old man dies, a library burns down’, meaning that when someone passes away their stories go with them.
This fitted both brothers. The eldest was a great one for reciting poetry and telling stories and the younger also had a great number of anecdotes to share.
The photo is of the two brothers in front of the house they grew up in. A friend used AI to create it.
18 people like this
16 responses
@allknowing (153544)
• India
18 Feb 25
It is only in the first few months that those who have lift us are disucssed and the memory fades away
2 people like this
@allknowing (153544)
• India
19 Feb 25
@JudyEv But I doubt if the now generation will ever want to spend time talking about it .
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@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Feb 25
@allknowing They will remember the funny episodes that involved them at least.
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@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
18 Feb 25
I'm sorry to hear that your two BILs passed away. That's such a wonderful quote and how true it is. I never heard that quote before but I really like it. What a nice picture of the two brothers in front of the house they grew up in. A very creative way to use AI.
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@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
19 Feb 25
@JudyEv I was telling my daughter about your picture and how it was created with AI and the house they grew up in. I'm sure that house had many stories to tell.
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@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Feb 25
@Marilynda1225 I should really write down the ones that Vince has told me.
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@Juliaacv (56195)
• Canada
18 Feb 25
That is such a great saying.
I remember thinking that, in a much more disorganized way, the moment that my Dad slipped away from this world.
His strong suit was being able to do large math functions in his head with accuracy, and knowing who owned what farm and what family originally worked it.........most farmers can recite things like that.
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@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 Feb 25
A wonderful photo. Someone should gather the memories and jot some things down,
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@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
18 Feb 25
I have seen a version of that quote before, and it is very true.
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@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
18 Feb 25
That would fit my dad for sure. He has always been filled with interesting things to say, and anecdotes.
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@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
22 Feb 25
What a lovely sentiment though about the library...RIP
I love the photo xo
I love the photo xo1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86568)
• United States
18 Feb 25
That saying is very true. So much history is gone, not only family history but the history of the era they lived through. I was regaled by my mother’s stories of making ends meet during the Depression and the WWII rationing that came on its heels. What do I have in comparison? Living through Nixon and what we have now?
Praying for the families.
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@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
18 Feb 25
That's a very insightful quote. Lovely photo of the boys.
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@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Feb 25
No, they didn't and they weren't really that close. One had four children; the other 7 and they didn't live near each other so they didn't really get together too often. However, they did speak on the phone a few weeks before their deaths. The younger one lived in Bali for some years and didn't come home very often.
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