dead reckoning– v. intr. finding yourself bothered by somebody’s death more than you would have expected, even if they were only an abstract presence in your life, like a lighthouse in the distance that suddenly goes dark, leaving you with one less landmark to navigate by.
I hope many of you don’t deal with death too often, though as you age, this is one of the worst things about living longer. You see more people die.
It sucks. Every time I update sqlmemorial.org, I’m sad.
It’s been surprising to me how often I feel dead reckoning, sometimes after someone I don’t even know personally dies. Prince affected me that way, and every time I hear a song from him I feel more sadness and loss than I would have expected.
I hope you don’t experience this a lot, but the more you live life and engage with others, the more likely it this is something with which you have to cope.
From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows