February 2: Old Marley Was Dead, The Dead Game, Kim Jong Il

Marley was dead:  to begin with.  There is no doubt whatever about that.  The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner, Scrooge signed it:  and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose, to put his hand to.  Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Of course, these are the opening lines of A Christmas Carol.  Almost anybody familiar with the book could probably quote at least a portion of this passage.  It ranks right up there with "It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times."  Or "Call me Ishmael."  When I read these words this morning, I was reminded of a ghoulish game I play with my sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law and I are both big pop culture fans.  My specialty is movie and television stars/trivia.  My sister-in-law is unbeatable at music and singers, but she's not too shabby on movies and TV, as well.  Well, a few years ago, my wife and I went for a walk with my sister-in-law and her husband.  It was a pleasant summer evening, and our goal was ice cream.  As we were walking along, my sister-in-law said, "Did you hear the sad news?"

"No," I said.  "What?"

"Katherine Hepburn died today," she said.

Well, you could have knocked me over with a cotton ball.  The news really depressed me.  Katherine Hepburn was one of those actresses/celebrities I grew up watching.  One of my favorite movies as a kid was a little-known flick Hepburn made called Olly Olly Oxen Free.  Loved it.  Anyway, I thought Katherine Hepburn was going to live forever.  That day, when my sister-in-law informed me of Hepburn's death, I felt like a piece of my childhood had died.

Of course, my sister-in-law, seeing my reaction to the news, started making fun of me.  From that day on, it's been game on.

When somebody famous dies, my sister-in-law and I race each other to the phone.  Whoever calls the other person first gets the point for the news.  Usually, the conversation starts out with the words, "Did you hear the sad news...?"  We actually don't keep score, but there's something very satisfying being the first to relate the information.  I'm ashamed to admit that I've actually put news alerts on my computer about celebrities who appear to be very ill; when the celebrity passes, I get sent an e-mail.



This guy doesn't count

 I got Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in the past year or so.  However, I think my sister-in-law went a little far recently when she called me one morning and said, "Did you hear the sad news?  Kim Jong Il died."  I told her that old dictators of communist Asian countries didn't count.  She still claims to this day that Kim counts.

Now, don't start leaving nasty comments for me about this little competition.  I'm not proud of the Dead Game, but, until my sister-in-law gives up, I will keep setting up my e-mail alerts.

Saint Marty needs to go now.  He needs to call his sister-in-law about Don Cornelius.