Oedipal Obit

      Even death may occasion wholly unexpected, genuine humor.      

     I am recently reminded of a time in 2011 when I published several pieces about my then recently-late father, about his devotion to his family, civil rights and liberties, and just tax policy, to the teaching of the law, and about the commitments he and our mother engendered in my brother, sister, and in me. While I hadn’t expected to learn much from the Times brief piece on his life, I did. It gave me pleasure, pride, one or two very quiet moments, and one rather unexpected arched brow. 

     Now, whether or not one thinks the Times is the finest paper going, no one will say it enjoys a smashing reputation for getting right all the details of the lives, events, and ideas it daily tries to cover in a rushed-up world. Its errata are legendary. 

     Still, imagine my surprise when I learned over morning coffee that my father’s first wife was not my mom, but his.  

     It may well have been history’s first Oedipal-Obit.

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