News outlets all over the world today rang out the news that one of Hollywood’s greatest actors has died. Charlton Heston was indeed a great actor and a very influencial person especially later in his political life with the NRA.
DId you catch all of those video editorials and eulogies to the man that played Moses, Michealangelo and Ben Hur? Did you ever wonder how quickly the news media put those together after the announcement came that Heston had passed?
Truth is, they took their time putting those together.
Just as the new media is very quick to be on the scene of breaking news, they are also very good at anticipating events and being ready for them – especially the inevitable.
With the passing of Charlton Heston, all of the news media already had produced their vinette on the life history of the famous actor. The truth is, they were just waiting for the right time to use it. And evenmoreso, when news of Heston’s death was made public, all the news outlets had to do was the voiceover and include the date and time of death to make the story accurate – if that is all they did.
Not to be incredibly morbid about this kind of journalism, but we can also do the same thing when it comes to our loved ones. Just recently, I was at a meeting where a man told me that a relative of his was near death. In anticipating the event, a granddaughter had come up with the idea of having a 5-6 minute film at the funeral that celebrated the life of the dying woman.
It’s anticipatory behavior like this that also makes the grieving process a bit easier to take – when you know the inevitable is going to happen and you can prepare yourself for it. These are things that we can do to let us know the impact one has had on our lives – and show how important they were to us. But more importantly, doing these things also shows our elder relatives that we love them (and loved them) enough to do this for them.
Consider this the next time you are faced with having to plan a funeral for a loved one – even well in advance of any date that could be anticipated. And if you need any help, contact us today and we can help answer any questions that you might have or help you complete the project.
