Taphophilia.(dot) Com - Author shows the ligher side of death

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Author shows the ligher side of death

Written by DeadGirl
Wednesday, 04 May 2005
By LARRY BINZ, Staff Writer May 04, 2005 Clarksdale, MS-Funerals are usually somber occasions when family and close friends bid farewell to some loved one and there is little thought to laughter and making light of the situation. That's what makes the collaborative work of Greenville writers Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays such a sheer masterpiece of cutting through the thick air that engulfs a funeral when they wrote, Being Dead Is No Excuse. Subtitled, The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral, co-author Metcalfe autographed copies of the book and briefed those who crammed into the lecture room in Carnegie Public Library Monday evening. Metcalfe's attire even befit the occasion as she wore a black formal dress accentuated with a string of pearls and her silver hair delicately combed straight back. In Hays' absence due to an illness, Metcalfe told admirers, the Greenville woman drew on her Southern roots even when she wrote for publications in New York and Washington. Missie Craig, the library director, said "We were fortunate to get even 125 copies of the book" for the signing. One national reviewer remarked in a commentary that the easy reading work was chocked full with recipes like Pickled Shrimp and Liketa Died Potatoes and written by a "recovering gossip columnist." Metcalfe said the socially acceptable nature of funerals in Greenville traditionally was a friendly competition between Methodists and Episcopals, with Methodists considered the "Mother Lode of Southern Funeral Fare." As Metcalfe so aptly stated, "nobody would be caught dead (at a funeral) without Tomato Aspic" which is made with mayonnaise. St. James Episcopal Church in Greenville was noted for its Cranberry Congealed Salad - considered the dessert of choice. Metcalfe opened her sampling of the book by saying Northerners were in awe of why Southerners make such a fuss over how to serve meals following a funeral. "Nothing whispers sympathy quite like a frozen-pea casserole with canned bean sprouts and mushroom soup," Metcalfe quoted from the book. Metcalfe cooks and takes it even more seriously than the hoopla surrounding a funeral itself. Hays, who confesses to not enjoying cooking, nonetheless considered well planned meals essential to a properly conducted funeral. Metcalfe said Greenville has been home to some of the nation's finest writers, including Shelby Foote, the Civil War historian. Skimming through Hays' letter written as an apology for her absence, Metcalfe said when it comes to gossip, "Clarksdale gossip is every bit as good as in Greenville." On a more complimentary note, Metcalfe said one trait Southerners are noted for is their willingness to come to the aid of people during times of crisis. Food-wise, "no one eats better than a bereaved Southerner," Metcalfe said. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14459156&BRD=2038&PAG=461&dept_id=230617&rfi=6

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries