NOTE: This post was originally sent via my AOL email on Oct 29. Somehow, it got waylaid in cyberspace and when I googled it, I found it appended to a post on the late Eunice de Souza, albeit, several words throughout tangled together. Similarly, it does not appear in Goanet Mail Archive (https://www.mail-archive.com/goanet@lists.goanet.org/), but does mysteriously appear when I google it at this Goanet Mail Archive ( https://www.mail-archive.com/goanet@lists.goanet.org/maillist.html).
Have had similar issues when sending a post via juno.com. I have now signed up with gmail and am reposting it. Hopefully, it may see the light of day! Dom ____________________ In the wake of the tsunami of death hoaxes in India, the late noted artist, F.N. Souza, may have outlived or out-staged them all. According to the Obituary Column, he was chronicled as dead as of March 28, 2002. However, in a recent article in the Times of India, Vivek Menezes points to Souza revisiting his ancestral roots in Goa in 2003 – and attempting for the last time to donate some of his masterpieces to the local genes only to encounter rejection and humiliation. [“No home for artworks of Goa's greatests” ( https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/no-home-for-artworks-of-goas-greatests/articleshow/61124536.cms) “No home for artworks of Goa's greatests” ( https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/no-home-for-artworks-of-goas-greatests/articleshow/61124536.cms) ] It is a historical landmark for people to become posthumously resurrected in the 'Recognition Column' after having graduated through the 'Obituary Column'. If Souza was still covertly attempting to make the rounds in 2003 to perpetuate immortality by donating canvases, then we are all in for a bilateral surprise: a) he is supernaturally alive and well; b) posterity has been paying homage to an empty grave in the Sewri cemetry, Bombay. In this age of the internet, just about anyone can glorify or de-glorify oneself or the other. There are also the opportunists, who could avail of this dishonorable power to solicit a hoax to either boost their waning image or upstage an eclipsed one. And just as one needs to be wary of fake canvases circulating among authentic ones in the art market, one needs to be similarly wary of the originating authenticity of these so called internet death hoaxes. In other words, let a week go by for internet rumors to ascertain themselves before putting your foot in your mouth on exactly how you felt about someone's fake passing. And if you did rush in to order the largest wreath on earth, you might wish you had been dead before unconditionally emptying out the contents of your penurious wallet. Or, as you might belatedly learn and to an excruciating degree: In the macrocosm of hoaxes, there are no refunds, backpaddling, or unringing the bell. Now that said, if ever you happen to see my name propagated in the internet death-hoax columns, please refrain from sending wreaths or heart warming bytes. Just bite your lip and send your tax deductible cash donations to my Cayman Island account No. IPC Sec. 420. And if you happen to run into me, just acknowledge that physical occurrence as a privileged apparition. Dom Martin