He thought long and hard about the best way to handle things. The impersonal stuff would be simple enough to deal with. A garage sale, perhaps. He could list the larger items on eBay,
But the items that meant the most to him he wanted to leave to family and friends. His car he'd leave to his son. His record collection to his music-loving brother. His books to a good friend who loved to read almost as much as he did.
The list was long but that was okay. In his hospital bed he really wasn't pressed by other things to do.
After he'd gotten over his initial shock of the news from his specialist he was now actually happy to know roughly how long he'd have to put his affairs in order.
Just like his life. He was what some would call a neat freak. His wife would jokingly say he had OCD. His view, however, was order in his life resulted in order in his mind. And so his motto had been 'a place for everything and everything in its place'. And now it had come to the point where new places must be found for everything...before it was too late.
A week later he passed on. His tearful wife confided in friends "He knew he couldn't take it with him. He was a neat freak to the end. When he slipped this mortal coil, he had nothing of his own to hold him back".
Comments
'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies!
'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig!
'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!
THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
Loved every word. (and the Hamlet reference, because Hamlet is a favorite of mine)