# Dead people always described as being full of life and lighting up the room **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694 "2012-12-21T02:21:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/21 "2012-12-21T17:53:18Z")
This is why whenever I walk into a room, I turn on every light fixture there. It doesn’t pay to take chances. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/22 "2012-12-21T17:55:40Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > This is why whenever I walk into a room, I turn on every light fixture there. > > It doesn’t pay to take chances. I bet you’re really popular at movie theatres. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/23 "2012-12-21T17:57:57Z")
Maybe I should start carrying around a flashlight and turning it on every time I enter a room. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/24 "2012-12-21T18:00:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Maybe I should start carrying around a flashlight and turning it on every time I enter a room. Be sure to shine it upward on your face from below. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/25 "2012-12-21T18:03:41Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > I bet you’re really popular at movie theatres. I always get a reaction. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/26 "2012-12-21T19:23:46Z")
Stealing from [despair.com](http://despair.com): “It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.” ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/27 "2012-12-22T03:56:28Z")
Those people who were always full of life and lighting up rooms? They [never knew a stranger.](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=1&gs_ri=serp&gs_mss=%22never%20knew%20a%20s&pq=%22colourful%20sporting%20identity%22%20obituary&cp=32&gs_id=4jm&xhr=t&q=%22never+knew+a+stranger%22+obituary&pf=p&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&oq=%22never+knew+a+stranger%22+obituary&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=9e7c226de65be7fc&bpcl=40096503&biw=1280&bih=883) > [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Many young lads who, erm, would be unlikely to have been a lawyer in ten years time, athough probably already had plenty of court room experience, if you know what I mean that die in the UK due to “misadventure” (almost always either theirs or that of lads similar to them\*) are described in the paper after they lapse as a “promising footballer”. > > Apparently this started out as a bit of an in joke and is getting quite well known now. Would those lads, had they gone on to live longer lives, perhaps have been eulogized as “colourful sporting identities”? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/28 "2012-12-22T04:44:10Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > This is why whenever I walk into a room, I turn on every light fixture there. > > It doesn’t pay to take chances. I easily see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/29 "2012-12-22T04:55:50Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Stealing from [despair.com](http://despair.com): “It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.” That seems to be as common and as crushing as “We all die someday.” To a really depressed person, I could see this as being the last thing that enters their mind, followed closely by a bullet. “Cautionary example” is possibly the worst title anyone could ever be given. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/30 "2012-12-22T05:00:15Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I easily see what you did there. He wantonly wastes electricity? Seems like a questionable eulogy to me. If he were a smoker, a crafty eulogist might say “He lights up in every room”. Is there such thing as an immolation joke? If so, those guys light up whole intersections. That was in bad taste I think. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/31 "2012-12-22T06:27:06Z")
I have no idea how people would eulogize me. However, I think everyone I know would describe me as an “extrovert/center of the party” kind of guy. That’s exactly how I behave. In truth I’m very introverted, but I force myself to act otherwise for business reasons, so few if any people know my true nature in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/32 "2012-12-22T06:41:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s the same phenomenon that promotes mediocre pop stars to genius status once they die prematurely (i.e. Jim Croce, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon etc.). Yeah. That Lennon. What a hack. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/33 "2012-12-22T19:18:01Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I seem to be noticing this lately. People–usually folks taken out prematurely and uexpectedly–described as cheerful, fun-loving, welcoming extroverts. Always full of life…the type of person who lights up a room the moment they enter it. (And will always give you the shirt off their back, too.) De mortuis nil nisi bonum. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/34 "2012-12-22T20:03:14Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Many young lads who, erm, would be unlikely to have been a lawyer in ten years time, athough probably already had plenty of court room experience, if you know what I mean that die in the UK due to “misadventure” (almost always either theirs or that of lads similar to them\*) are described in the paper after they lapse as a “promising footballer”. > > \*Occured to me that especially with the US emphasis on race my cunning allusions might be sounding as if I’m talking about some kind of race. I definitely ain’t, this applies to all races in the UK, which while not a post-racist society has a very different kind of racial issues to the US. I love how you British are so apologetic when you call an entire country a bunch of racist jerks! ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/35 "2012-12-22T20:14:40Z")
Several years ago i went to a funeral and the daughter of the deceased took to the podium and started off with something like. “My Mother was a cruel, heartless, insane bitch but I am hurting right now because for some unknown reason I lover her”. It sounds like a cruel joke but a lot of us were really touched by the honest and heartfelt eulogy she gave. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/36 "2012-12-23T04:33:18Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Or maybe people who aren’t full of life don’t have a lot of friends to sing their praises? This. “that bastard owes me money” doesn’t usually make the news. You often hear “the good die young”. It’s not that they do so more than others it’s just nobody sings the praises of bad people. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/37 "2012-12-23T13:41:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > “that bastard owes me money” doesn’t usually make the news. > > You often hear “the good die young”. It’s not that they do so more than others it’s just nobody sings the praises of bad people. Yeah, but there’s a lot of middle ground between always lighting up a room and being a bastard that owes someone money. Introvert =! bad person. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/38 "2012-12-23T15:56:51Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Several years ago i went to a funeral and the daughter of the deceased took to the podium and started off with something like. “My Mother was a cruel, heartless, insane bitch but I am hurting right now because for some unknown reason I lover her”. It sounds like a cruel joke but a lot of us were really touched by the honest and heartfelt eulogy she gave. I’ve been to several funerals that had me wondering if I was at the right one, because the way the deceased was being described sure wasn’t the person I knew them to be. I remember years ago when I worked at a bank, we had one really nasty, arrogant customer. He had money, but so did lots of other customers, and he thought the everyone should stop what they were doing to attend to his needs the second he walked through the door. One of my co-workers saw his obituary in the paper and brought it in to show us. Every damn one of us smiled when we saw it. That is when I thought people should try live their lives in such a way that nobody should be happy when they die. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/39 "2012-12-23T16:28:06Z")
“You just didn’t know her well enough if she’d never made you laugh.” I think these words pretty much sum me up. I am not the brightest light in the room and no one would ever describe me as warm and loving. But I do tend to make people laugh, intentionally or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694/40 "2012-12-24T02:13:30Z")
People will say this about me when I’m dead. I know, because they say it to me now. In fact, I have received more than one lecture about how, since I have one those personalities that lights up a room, it is my responsibility ALWAYS to be in a good mood (or pretend to be) because if I’m not, I might bring other people down. People look to me to be the bright light, etc. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-always-described-as-being-full-of-life-and-lighting-up-the-room/644694.md?page=3)