I am so with you one this one Dr. Khuly! I too was the "weird girl in black". The fact that this "holiday" is also my birthday probably set me up to do almost the same thing you did- I wound up working as a CCRN in a medical intensive care unit.
This would be an amazing time to reflect on what good has been given to us by those who we would honor on a day set aside just for this purpose. Perhaps it would give us a little more insight into how to care for our elderly and ill relatives and friends (the 4 legged ones too) with more reverence and respect. As a time to share stories and remember all that has come before and how our family and friends have shaped us, I cant think of a better day. (The catholic church has done this for years, but never with the same kind of intensity that is found south of the boarder)
And BTW, I just love the picture!

I am in agreement! I wasn't one of the weird girls in black in high school (I was terrified of anything related to death!), but somehow I ended up in mortuary school and love my profession. A few months ago, a neighborhood kid found a dead mole and brought it to me. He knew what I did for a living and wanted to have a funeral. So we did...about 10 kids from the neighborhood showed up in my front yard and we dug a hole and had a little service for it. I'm sure their parents thought it was crazy, but I like to think maybe I helped them with their first experience of death. I hope so anyway. :) I love your blog.

Doc, you rock on this one!

Doc: I know you expected a lot of "grief" on this blog, but lo and behold, so many of us are with you on this. Blessed be.

I do that too, every now and then. Don't most people that have been subjected to stress of one form or another?

I am well "before the dressed in black" age. More in tune with colors as called "psychedelic" ,

But honoring the dead whether: veterans, family, or pet family, seems like a good idea no matter what time of year.

I grew up in the Soviet atheist (and clandestine Russian orthodox) traditions where no particular care was taken to shelter people from the fact of death. Much of our education in school was founded on the history of World War II whose first-hand memory was still fresh in the generation of my parents. Death is a healthy reminder - as long as it's not accepted as an everyday inevitable fact of life, as it was in my Old Country for decades. No moral to this story except that I'm terribly lucky to live in Canada now :-)

Yes, I like the idea of the Day of the Dead. And I too, was a weird girl in black -- or at least for a long period after John Lennon was shot. Walked around with a black heart necklace on for months.

I do, however, believe that ritual is very helpful.

Sometimes others help you remember your dead. A friend did a beautiful tribute video in memory of her dog, Ruby, and Toonces story was in the video. I saw it for the first time yesterday and wept. Honoring the memory of our loved ones by fighting for improvements in veterinary regulaton and legal recognitionof our pets value is one thing many of us try to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk_aOmiHMRM

Really, the longer you live, the more every day is the day of the dead. We all need to find our ways to incorporate honoring them into our lives, because it helps us cope and it keeps them alive in a way.