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"But it is also true that most lives are incomplete, that death precludes explanations. How then can one not be intrigued by the unfinished story? I too read the obituaries in the Figaro these days, and find myself nodding in agreement with the pious platitudes and humble evocations. 'Le soir venu, Jésus leur dit, "Passons sur l'autre rive"' I too like to think of the dead as being comforted. For my own part I am fairly tough. But that notebook serves as a reminder. Its lessons - that any notation, any record, is better than none - tells me that life is brief, and also that it is memorable, that the trace it leaves behind is indelible. And if the trace is inscrutable, this too may be appropriate. The dead, perhaps even more than the living, have a right to their mysteries. And who knows? We, the survivors, may be called upon to explain them, if only to ourselves." (Incidents at the Rue Laugier, Anita Brookner, 1995, p.233)

"What we must do is devote ourselves to a celebration of life, and what it offers, for as long as we have it. We live with love and passion and do the best we can in whatever time we have. We don't whine and whinge about the fact that it's not permanent. What we leave behind -- good works, people who loved us -- makes us live on for as long as memories persist." (Gene Weingarten, July 2009 WaPo discussion)


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