Final Calling Card

I had a kind of epiphany last weekend when I went to Des Moines to help choose a headstone for my mom with my dad and brother…

A headstone is sorta like a business card.

A business card is also called a calling card. It represents who you are. It immediately tells the other person about you. Is the card white with black lettering? Or is it ivory with an embossed font and a logo? Maybe the card is teal with yellow letters so it really pops. Did you use an inkjet printer at home? Is there anything on the back? An inspirational quote? Did you go with hyphens or dots for the phone number? Did you include www for the website? These are all decisions you have to make. They all communicate something. And if you take this all the way to the end, a person’s headstone, while considerably less disposable, is their final calling card.

The best is probably Jack Lemon’s. Dude won the game with this one…

But what about the rest of us who aren’t national treasures?

I hadn’t given my mom’s headstone much thought before getting on the plane. I figured her name on top and then LOVING WIFE and BELOVED MOTHER stacked underneath. Maybe EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN as well. (Or AMAZING if EXTRAORDINARY was too many letters.) And then the dates. But ultimately I’d defer to my dad.