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SELF — SEPTEMBER 23 WRITING PROMPT
The Woman in the Mirror
Go look in a mirror. Describe what you see. Give us the details.
I searched my old photos for “mirror.” I had to laugh when this came up. Good hair day! What I see is me looking surprisingly great, considering it was about 105° in the shade. By all rights, my face should’ve been covered in beads of sweat; my hair should have been damp and bedraggled. The oppressive heat outdoors caused a brief power outage at the National Museum of Funeral History, which is where I stood when I took this photo. But their air conditioning, when the power was on, was a welcome and welcoming relief. Clearly, it saved me from melting like a saponified corpse.
I have no idea what I was looking at with such skepticism. Probably reading a plaque, but I can’t remember, now, what it said. Maybe I was worried one of those ceiling lights would fall on my head and turn me into an impromptu exhibit.
Memento mori. Remember, we all must die. That said, I bought one of their “Any day above ground is a good day” coffee mugs and some killer hot sauces from the gift shop. I found my dream car, too — what gorgeous wood paneling! — but they wouldn’t let me take it off the showroom floor. The NMFH is surprisingly not morbid for a funeral museum. Almost a celebration…
