Page 40 - May 2020

FIELD NOTES

Bereavement Cannot be Abbreviated

Lee Coyne, ATMS

To each and every Toastmaster on this planet,

death marks the final curtain of communication
with our loved ones. Memorial Day 2020 thus bears
reflection on dealing with death.
Amid this global pandemic the subject is even

more relevant. In the year 2000 I was asked by
the New Mexico Counseling Association to do a
workshop at their annual meeting in Albuquerque.
My Toastmasters skills were being summoned. The

topic was creative grief.
Here is the essence of that very poignant memory,
with several Toastmasters friendly additions:
• Birthday in Memoriam. Here’s our chance to

recall everyday passions as well as pastimes
of that individual. Cook their favorite dish
to share. Play music in tune wuth with their
karma of life. Take a pause to discuss hobbies,

vocation. and vacations.
• Unwind the Past. Play a tape of their voice
if available. Or else take out old TM speech
manuals and reminisce the talks of yesteryear.

Drag out an old evaluation of how it might
play out in retrospect.
• Create a Legacy Log. Pick a special quality
that the loved one displayed. Keep faith

by replicating that human trait in daily
interaction. By so doing, we can hold forth
an eternal light in their memory.
In times of darkness, that magic lantern is needed

more than ever. Be that emissary.

Note. Lee Coyne was once on the staff of Douglas Home
Care and Hospice.

40 ONE COMMUNITY