rant · moment 11 of 18
Funeral Stories: The Mystery Guest and Cancer Warriors
from Growing Up Gottschee with Dan St. Germain · #122
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minMore funeral anecdotes including a random stranger hugging a widower at a wake, referencing Norm Macdonald's bit about wanting a sad funeral, and a story about a woman who fought pancreatic cancer for a decade before succumbing.
- 40:44Tim describes being assigned as a kid to be the funny one at funerals while people were upset.
- 40:54At his grandmother's funeral, he tried to entertain his sad cousin with jokes but she ended up crying.
- 41:37His father showed pictures of his dog to people at his grandmother's funeral instead of dealing with the emotion.
- 42:07A mysterious man in bike shorts and a hot pink tank top showed up to Tim's uncle's funeral, hugged people, and nobody knew who he was.
- 42:59Tim says he could see himself being that random guy who shows up to a funeral uninvited.
- 43:27Che describes a woman who fought pancreatic cancer for nine years with a community supporting her through the battle.
- 43:54Tim reflects on how fighting cancer gave this woman meaning and warrior status that most people never experience.
- 44:28Pancreatic cancer victims are usually dead in three months, but this woman lived for ten years after diagnosis.
- 44:44Tim jokes that tobacco companies deserve credit for providing people with meaning through debilitating disease.
RJ Reynoldspancreatic cancerNorm McDonaldNetflix