letter of condolence

[morimiche]

i need to write a letter of condolence to my aunt who recently lost her son
in a tragic accident? I don't know what to say, please can somebody help me

 

[Tom Willett]

You've got to be kidding. You want a complete stranger to do this? How
shameful.

:i need to write a letter of condolence to my aunt who recently lost her son
: in a tragic accident? I don't know what to say, please can somebody help
me

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This newsgroup can help you format the letter in Word but is not intended to
assist with content. You might google for "condolence letter" or "sympathy
letter" to get ideas.

Much the best thing, though, is just to say what you sincerely feel; put
yourself in your aunt's place and think about what she might want to hear.
If you knew your cousin at all well, you should recall some of his sterling
qualities or even tell a humorous story about him. What your aunt will most
want to know is that people loved her son and will not forget him.

My brother and sister-in-law lost a son in a tragic accident a couple of
years ago, and what meant most to them was having their son's friends gather
and share their reminiscences about him, especially when they had memories
that demonstrated what a fine, upstanding young man he had been.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Hand-write it, don't type it on a computer.

This newsgroup can help you format the letter in Word but is not intendedto
assist with content. You might google for "condolence letter" or "sympathy
letter" to get ideas.

Much the best thing, though, is just to say what you sincerely feel; put
yourself in your aunt's place and think about what she might want to hear..
If you knew your cousin at all well, you should recall some of his sterling
qualities or even tell a humorous story about him. What your aunt will most
want to know is that people loved her son and will not forget him.

My brother and sister-in-law lost a son in a tragic accident a couple of
years ago, and what meant most to them was having their son's friends gather
and share their reminiscences about  him, especially when they had memories
that demonstrated what a fine, upstanding young man he had been.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org

 

[Greg Maxey]

Mr. Daniels,

The polite thing is to suggest or recommend the letter be handwritten
rather than to insist or command that it be done one way over another. When
you learn to suppress little things like this is when you will start gaining
control over your unbridled arrogance.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Sorry, Greg, this is not "unbridled arrogance"; it is simply standard
etiquette. Any etiquette book you may read will not "suggest or recommend"
that condolence notes be handwritten; it will prescribe it. Peter's reply
does, however, call attention to a point that I missed, which is that Word
does not enter into this process at all unless the OP wants to use a word
processor to draft the content of the note (layout thus being immaterial)
before copying it by hand (in black or blue-black ink) on notepaper.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Interesting that my stalker, this newsgroup's resident troll, is upset
by the instruction to hand-write a letter of condolence but not by the
instruction to hand-write the considerably less delicate matter of
thank-you notes.

Perhaps he doesn't remember the embarrassment caused the Bush
administration by his penultimate superior, Donald Rumsfeld, when he
used a machine to "sign" letters of condolence to the families of lost
servicemen instead of giving them the most minimal personal attention.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Ms. Barnhill,

I am not disputing the standard practice of hand written condolences. I have
had the unfortunate experience of preparing many. Futhermore, I did not
categorize Mr. Daniels' reply as "unbridled arrogance." I think you will
find that I mentioned it as a "little thing." It is presented with the tone
of a command and not as point of ettiquette. Mr. Daniels assumes, a
hazardous pratice in his view, that the morimichie is capable of preparing a
hand writen note. Morimichie may be a combat wounded quadriplegic veteran
for all Mr Danliels really knows who prepared his or her simply request
using a head wand and keyboard.

If Mr. Daniels truly was the unfailingly polite man, as you have
characterized him, then he would have considered all possibilities and
therefore couch his tone.

BTW when was the last time someone was jailed or executed for violating a
prescribed rule of etiquette?

 

[Greg Maxey]

Mr. Daniels,

Your dimwittedness never ceases to astound. I do not dispute the
appropriateness of hand written condolences. It's your tone an manner that
is generally so offensive. Would you have said the exact same thing in the
exact same manner if you were sitting face to face with a severely wounded
serviceman (or servicewoman) unable to write by hand?

Do you ever have an original thought ("this newsgroup's resident troll")?
The troll took up residence when you left the safety of your bridge and
joined in. However, resident troll is a title that I would relish if only
you would fing another group to haunt.

Have a nice day.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Mr. Daniels,



After carefully considering your pathetic argurments, I thought I would
whisper another tip.



You should take care when pointing out the insensitivities of others so not
to show insensitivity yourself.



I will not defend Secretary Rumsfeld's or the insensitivity of his staff
other than to say that both were struggling to manage two ongoing wars.
What is your excuse?



Sadly you failed to consider all of the lost when you crafted your argument
laced with haughty scorn. Of the roughly 1.4 million personnel in the U.S.
armed forces about 225 thousand are women. Yes Mr. Daniels, regrettably
those unfortunate letters were sent to the grieving families of both
servicemen and servicewomen. That's right Mr. Daniels, women as well as men
volunteer service to their country. You would do well to consider that the
lost servicewomen, whom you carelessly excluded, those still serving, and
the others who have served previously have mettle that you will likely never
match.



Yes, yes. I've seen your nattering here about sensitive readers and reading
for content vice context blah, blah. It is possible, however highly
unlikely considering your arrogant manner, that you did not intentionally
exclude our servicewomen in your pathetic argument. Some may give you the
benefit of doubt or accept any forthcoming babble about what you really
meant to say. Then there are those who ask no quarter and give none. Their
last thought on this tortured thread may be that of a vain little troll
limping off under his bridge to lick his wounds and dine on another crow
sandwich.



Cheers!

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

My god, the most insensitive loon ever to "grace" this newsgroup with
his presence is complaining about sexist language????

As for the earlier message, morimiche is not a severely wounded
serviceperson unable to write for him or herself, but the cousin of
someone who died in an accident.

And as for that serviceperson, they would ask the attendant Red Cross
or USO volunteer to write the letter from dictation on their behalf.
They would not ask someone to type it, they would ask someone to write
it.

And as for "two ongoing wars," one of them was utterly pointless and
was entered into because bush lied to Congress. Repeatedly.

Next you'll be defending cheney for continually pointing out that his
administration "kept the country safe" ever since September 12, 2001.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Stone the crows (are there any left?). He's back!

As is usually the case you scream and shout and run off on tangents. As for
the earlier message, it contained a simple question:

"Would you have said the exact same thing in the exact same manner if you
were sitting face to face with a severely wounded
serviceman (or servicewoman) unable to write by hand?"

Of course nobody has a gun to your head or will force you to answer, but the
question is to point (i.e., the tone and manner of your reply). It is a
conditional question unrelated to morimiche whose whose physical abilities
remain unknown. Conditional is what "if" usually means. For a man of a
gazillion languages why do you always trip up on English?

The question has one of two possible answers. Yes or No. There is no
third. You either would have or you would not have.

Since you didn't anwer in either manner some may take your avoidance of the
question to mean "yes" and consider that you are an insenstive swine while
others may take it to mean "no" and consider all your palaver here as futher
evidence that "even when obviously wrong you continue your aruguments."

Sexist langauge? Was it your inent to be sexist? Ok, then you have no
excuse. I was hoping that excluding servicewomen in your earlier rantings
was just a careless, insensitive oversight.

This really isn't the place for opinions on the virtues or wars or
performance of elected official past or present, your or mine.

Sadly it isn't the ideal place for our constant dustups either. I do sorely
wish that you would stop being so mule headed and learn to behave. Good
behaviour here is not really all that hard:

1. Post when and wherever you like, but stay in your range of expertise.
Always be open to the ideas and suggestion of others. If you venture outside
your range then try to be correct.

2. Stop posting your opinions as statements of fact. If you think something
is easy or if you prefer one method to another then say so in that manner.
Stop insisting or trying to prove that your ways are always best, easiest,
fastest, etc. Let others decided for themselves what is easiest between a
set of given options and decide for themselves if the effort/advantage of
pursuing one approach justifies taking that approach over another.

3. Stop disparaging the contributions and skills of others and selective
advanced Word features. Stop throwing up roadblocks and detours when a user
seeks information on a particular feature or function that you don't
understand or that you don't wish to pursue yourself.

4. Bridle your arrogance.

And of course, to show your sincerity, you need to apologize for all the
offense given others.

Cheers.