obits

I heard this on my way to work this morning which made me think all the more about a close friend of mine, Doris, who passed away over the weekend.

My friend's obituary in the Trib was a complete empty dud and reading it left me feeling let down. It said nothing of the wonderful headstrong woman who lived her life like there wasn't a tomorrow. She loved this City and all of its character and grittiness. She defined Chicago for me and my family. She loved diversity and identified with those who were less fortunate. She loved black culture, jazz, smoking, drinking, politics and football, not necessarily in that order. She was a pioneering woman and was friends with other pioneer women - like Willye B. White, whom I had the good chance to meet over a long bottle of champagne at home one night. She surrounded herself with strong feisty women and I'm honored to have been part of that circle.

Doris worked for Playboy back in the early days and knew Heff. One of her jobs there was to interview and hire seamstresses to make Playboy bunny costumes for the Playboy Club, which she did by having the seamstress make her a bunny costume. My family has a photo of her in one of them. It's priceless.

As I think about all the things that Doris was to me, to my family and to the City, I appreciate all the more the power of a writer to tell the story of a life well lived or not so well lived. It also makes me think that I better hurry up and live the life that I want to be told in my obituary.