I am not amused

Scribbled down on September 26th, 2008 by she
Posted in Friends & Family, Frothing At The Bit

I was planning on continuing to avoid blogging while I desperately attempt to make my Enviro Chem paper deadline (tonight) but it was not to be.

My father passed away two years ago today.  Some days I forget he’s gone and pick up the phone to call and talk to him.  I hope others do this as I’d hate to think I’m some sort of loony that hasn’t learned to let go… I miss him a lot.  He was my go-to guy for advice.  The person I wanted to grow up and be like. All that.

When my dad died the local newspaper screwed up and didn’t publish his obituary until the morning of his funeral (which took place on a Saturday).  When the error was first caught (day 1) the Funeral Home contacted the paper to correct it for the following day. A second day passed with no obituary. It was one of those things that you expect to go smoothly and it’s quite disturbing when it doesn’t.

Due to the lack of notice few people had realized he’d died.  I’m sure fewer still were even aware that he was ill.  We spent quite a bit of time afterward explaining to people when he’d died, when the funeral had been, and why they might not have seen the notice in the paper.  It was stressful to say the least. And yes, I’m still a tad bit bitter about the whole thing.

In the few years since then, I’ve been contacting the paper well in advance in order to place the Memoriam notice.  I’m delusional.  I like to think they’ll get it right.  This year I didn’t receive a call to arrange for payment after placing the order.  I waited 2 or 3 days and then contacted the paper again.  I had a few days before the cut-off period for the notice and wasn’t too concerned.  They claimed never to have received the order, so I resubmitted it and made payment.  I received confirmation and *whoosh* a few short minutes later the payment was processed.  I figured all would be well.  This year, the notice would appear.

I should have known better.  Don’t get me wrong.  My dad’s Memoriam was printed.  It’s just that it appeared in the Moncton paper instead of the Saint John paper.  It’s the equivalent of placing a notice in a Calgary paper for an Edmonton audience.  I’m not amused.  Hell, I’m downright disappointed.  If I were the paranoid type, I’d wonder what the hell my family had ever done to deserve this…

Upperdate 1:40pm: 2 hours ago I notified the paper of it’s error in writing – via email, but in writing none the less.  When I wanted to place the ad and contacted them (the second time) they got back to me in less than 30 minutes.  I haven’t heard a peep out Brunswick News Inc yet.  Wonder how long it’ll take before they acknowledge my complaint… or if they’ll wait until I call to complain?


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2 Responses to “I am not amused”

  1. I’m sorry for your loss – even though it’s been two years, I hope it’s still appropriate to say it.

  2. […] I am not amused […]

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