thoughts about portraits of grief

In Portraits of Greif, the obituaries were basically written in the same style. They were short, to the point and aimed to sum up a persons life in about 200 words. What set each apart was what the author chose as their main focus about the person, the quotes and how they chose to use their words. My two favorite portraits out of the first 20 “N” were “Mildred Naiman: Thumbed Her Nose at Age” and “Peter A. Nelson: A Marriage Proposal.” In each of these stories the writer chose his words in a way that I really felt for the person and his family or I admired how the person lived their life.
In “Mildred Naiman: Thumbed Her Nose at Age” The writer chose to write about how Mildred loved to travel and get out and do things despite her age. I see a little of myself in that. It makes me think about how even though she died in an awful way before her time she still lived to be 81 and was still having the time of her life doing what she loved. It makes me look up to her. If I make it that far I too want to still be as energetic and enthusiastic as her. She didn’t die necessarily in a bad state of mind which is what makes this story lighter and a little easier to handle.
“Peter A. Nelson: A Marriage Proposal” made me think about how you have to take advantage of situations as they come because you never know what’s going to happen later. The way the story was ironic left me in a state of disbelief and grief. The very way he was saved the first time was how he ended up dying. It makes you wonder. The quotes used show how he would have been a loving father and the ending line leaves you speechless. Leaves you heartbroken that that he never lived to meet his daughter and how the first time she saw her father was at his funeral. The words choice really strikes a nerve.
What really makes the story are good quotes and words choice and arrangement. And if that isn’t great then a person with a really interesting story would catch my eye. Each person has a different story but it’s the writer that really captures their essence.