<p>Deleting phone numbers from your cell phone when people die.</p>
<p>I suspect that there are others but this hit me the other day. On a less dramatic level, I suspect it’s similar when a relationship is “over.”</p>
<p>Funny you should mention that. My dad died this spring and I realized over the weekend that I hadn’t deleted him but have deleted my sister, with whom I’ve had a falling out. I think I’ll leave dad in there for a while.</p>
<p>Even worse - people leaving messages about a death on an answering machine, Some things should be done directly, and with sympathy, not like piece of ordinary business.</p>
<p>Ever add a phone number in your cell and then not remember who it was, because you only typed in the first name and you happen to know more than one person by that name?</p>
<p>I had a good friend die very recently. I can’t bring myself to delete either his home phone or his cell from mine. I can’t get myself to delete his email address yet either.</p>
<p>I was just thinking the other day…what happens to email addresses of people who die?</p>
<p>I can’t work my phone so all of this makes no difference to me. Oh, I can save the number but I can’t give it a name. I tried on the new phone after my last one went swimming in my glass of Diet Dr. Pepper and ended up with something that looked like aaaaababab abba. My loving daughter almost hurt herself laughing when she scrolled through and saw that entry. Hey . I know who it is. I’m thinking of morse code, with “a” being the dash and “b” being the dot. (I don’t want to learn. I have limited space in my brain and can’t afford to learn anything else technical or else I start loosing “Greatest Hits of The Monkees”. …they said love was only true in fairy-tales, and then for someone else and not for you…)</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about online bill paying. If you pass away suddenly, and no one checks your email, how do the bills get paid unless after months they send a large bill snail mail with a mountain of late charges?</p>
<p>curm: Well I almost hurt myself laughing over the Monkees. My chem teacher and I recounted the plot to each other the day after when I was in tenth grade.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Maybe that’s why I got 100% on the Chem Regents (my only one I think.) I seem to remember a section on electrons and the British Invasion. Hey hey we’re the Monkees, and people say we monkey around, but we’re too busy sining to put anybody down.</p>
<p>This is a twentieth century ritual in our case, but could still happen: watching my dad die and digital watch go on and on on his wrist. It was so strange that I had to finally take the watch off his wrist.</p>
<p>His last words to me were “time is not real”.</p>
<p>When my father passed away, his ISP wouldn’t deal with the family, so he still has a bill that is growing every month.</p>
<p>3bm103, most free email services make an address available and delete the existing account after a certain period of inactivity, such as 3 or 6 months. Company email addresses are obviously handled by the company.</p>
<p>Cheer up, sleepy jean.
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen.</p>
<p>We will be singing those songs as all short term memory fades from use. Sad huh? But what could be more fun! Curm, you will not loose those songs!</p>
<p>Okay. I’ll bite. Take the last train to Clarksville and I’ll meet you at the station.</p>
<p>Mythmom–
I was thinking about that song, but it wasnt one of my favorite Monkees. However I now have “daydream believer” running through my head. To quote another thread – AAAGGHH!</p>
<p>The Dad, zoosermom and 3b… me too on the just can’t delete phenomenon. I still keep my email jokes my father’s best friend always sent me, until he died more than a year ago. I couldn’t bring myself to delete his cell number or that of a close friend of my own - each of whom died over a year ago. I can’t explain it. I got a new Blackberry and finally did the deletions when transferring info to the new device.</p>
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<p>This is one reason why I still have the paper bills come to the house, even though I pay everything online. If I became incapacitated, whoever was handling the financial affairs would be able to keep up with the bills.</p>
<p>After my f-i-l died 2 years ago, H was the executor of his estate, since his mom is in an assisted living home–he’s her power-of-attorney as well…We moved his mom to live near us, from Illinois, and all her mail comes to our house. We still get mail addressed to H’s dad. One last week was from some club or store or something—addressed to guy deceased more than 2 years ago, and on the front of the envelope was , “WE WANT YOU BACK.” Husband muttered, “Well, I want him back too, but it’s not going to happen,” as he dropped it in the recycle pile. We still have his name as the password on a couple of online sites that we shared access to with him. It still makes me sad, even though I smile when his name pops up out of the blue.</p>
<p>RE: Monkeys…I’ve got an obscure one. “Bob Dobalina, Mr. Bob Dobalina.”…or “China Clipper calling Alameda”…or “Never mind the furthermore, the plea is self defense.” Only a true Monkees fan with all their albums would probably know this one…</p>
<p>Yeah, I don’t know that one. I want to say you guys are much more responsible than I am worrying about your bills if you are incapacitated. Makes me realize that although I think I’m all grown up and responsible, there’s still the sixties hippie in me.</p>
<p>MM: if you weren’t careful on your wording, I would bring you something featuring Groucho.</p>
<p>Interesting that others have the same cell phone (and I hadn’t quite thought about e-mail accounts) issues. My mom is still in my cell phone. Well…her number is.</p>
<p>When we’re in those nursing homes, will they play our music or will the staff play what they want to hear?</p>