My first job as a reporter at a daily newspaper was at the Junction City (Kan.) Daily Union, where I worked with a sweet woman named Laura. Laura was our official typesetter, and she spent her days typing up handwritten articles that were submitted to the paper and all copy – like obituaries – that required certain formatting. Laura was in all our staff meetings, and she was quiet and a bit shy, but whenever we needed a source or ideas for feature stories, Laura was a treasure. She always popped up, sometimes outta nowhere, with a name or connection or an idea. Through her job, she learned everyone’s family trees. Plus, she knew where a ton of contacts lived because she typed up family reunions, church gatherings and obituaries all. day. long. for the whole of Geary County, Kansas. She was an endless supply of local knowledge! Pure gold when you have a full front-page, full-color feature story section to fill every Sunday. She had a passion for those stories and any stories she typed, too. She took great care in getting the details correct, sometimes calling the source to make sure she had names spelled correctly. Hers was truly a labor of love. Thank goodness for people like Laura who love to record history accurately. ❤️ Obituaries are historical documentations of people’s lives, and we can look at Chapter 25 like a historical document of Abraham’s life. I mean, it’s pretty much Abraham’s obituary, isn’t it? Call me weird, but I love to read obituaries. They are bitter sweet, yes, but so fascinating. In college, one of my favorite assignments was writing an obituary for someone still living. We had to interview a person and write about his or her life in AP Style (newspaper format). I chose Jay Lawrence Hague, who was in his 70s at the time. Fascinating. And I gained a new buddy. I really meant to give him the copy of his obituary, which he bugged me about for years, but I lost it somewhere along the way and never did. I learned he passed away a couple years ago and looked up his obituary and learned even more. What a guy! We can say this about Abraham while reading this chapter, too. I always forget he married again after Sarah died. He even had more children with Keturah – and apparently some concubines? 🤔 Fascinating. And definitely, what a guy!
This chapter skips right on up to the point Isaac and Rebekah become parents. Isaac was 40. Rebekah was old enough to draw water for camels (remember the servant?) and go on her own to marry. Flash forward – twins! Jacob and Esau are born, and another division is forthcoming.
Writing prompt: obit
Write an obituary for someone still living, or if you’re brave (and super weird) write your own.
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