Even Mrs. Stelwagen’s speech was excellent—that is, mercifully brief. If you aren’t a gifted speaker, the least you can do is follow one rule: keep it short. It’s a rule that is often forgotten, especially at funerals. “I’ll never forget the first time I met Piet, it was at a meeting of the Flying Rats, the pigeon-fanciers’ club, and he said to me, ‘Jan,’ he said, ‘won’t you…’ ” Whenever someone starts off that way, you know you’re in for a snooze, and that it’s going to be mainly about the speaker himself.
