This morning I recalled another "family saying"--"Who died?" Again, this saying must be used in the appropriate context in order to get the full flavor. One should wait for an encounter with a person who is telling a story to another person or group; then in the midst of the tale, you should interrupt and ask "Who died?" This will provoke one or more of three possible reactions: a) merriment among the cognoscenti; b) the story teller will begin at the beginning, to the annoyance of the group that has been there from the beginning; and/or c) a response from one of the listeners, the substance of which is "Never mind. We'll tell you later". This may provoke an exchange which results in the story being summarized in an unsatisfacory fashion or eventaully being told all over again anyway. Use of the "who died?" rhetorical device can prolong a gathering around the kitchen or dining room table almost indefinitely or at least until someone has to go to the bathroom, the phone rings or your baby has awakened screaming, requiring you to attend to him/her.

The reason I thought of this is that on today's obituary page in the Schenectady Gazette there was a notice concerning a memorial service for "John Stover". Thus, today one family saying could have been answered by another!