Discretion over Valor

March 27, 2024/Business/

I was reminded this week that many times “Discretion is the choice over Valor”. In writing today’s column, which will eventually get down to the Death Care business, I’m going to share a little of my weekend and how I came to write this for today.

If you read Funeral Director Daily on a regular basis you will know that Angie and I are Minnesota residents but for the past 4 years have rented a condo in South Florida for January, February, and March. As we always do on our way home, Angie was dropped at the Fort Myers airport on Friday morning and was comfortably back in our Minnesota home by Friday evening.

It is then incumbent on me to get our vehicle, loaded with our belongings, back to Minnesota and I put a 1,900 mile, 2 1/2 day trip ahead of me which I strategically begin on Saturday morning so that I miss weekday heavy traffic for two days until I’m almost home. . . .Don’t feel sorry for me though as I actually enjoy the drive and the people I meet at the gas stations, restaurants, and hotels on my way. Quite frankly, I seem to interact with what seems to be “The Best of America” as I connect with people through Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin before I hit the Minnesota border. I enjoy seeing the geography that I never had the time to see when I hurried to/from airplane transported vacations back in my working day. . . . and, I especially enjoy the people I come across and visit with.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

In any regards, I had a great trip for about 1,750 miles and within 2 hours of home. As most of you know the Upper Midwest was hit with a huge snowstorm and my discretion came about as calling ahead and talking to Angie, my sons, and some good friends, it was decided that I should spend one more night on the road and wait out the storm and finish under better road conditions.

So, here I am, on Monday afternoon at the Hilton Garden Inn at Mall of America in Minneapolis — only two hours from home. On the positive side, I’ll walk across to the world’s largest indoor mall and have dinner and eventually get home Tuesday some time. . . .I just have to wait for the roads to clear.

Discretion over Valor? Yes, you see, in my younger days I would have “white-knuckled” the drive the last 150 miles so I’d be home for work. . . Today, however, I was reminded that there is no reason to hurry home and put myself in a situation where I could hit ice and slide off the road. . . As one of my son’s told me, “You wouldn’t be happy if that happens”.

So, over to the mall today. . . on the road tomorrow. . . or Wednesday or whenever the weather and roads clear up. I’ve aged to the point that I’m not necessarily a “fine wine” or “good bourbon” yet, but at least to the point that I’ve learned “Discretion over Valor”.

Funeral Service Related — Taking “Discretion over Valor” is not what funeral directors are allowed to do in their job. Funeral directors generally have only one chance to get it right for the families they serve. . .and probably more so than any other profession — they nail it every time. Here’s an article that Funeral Director Daily has in our archives from 2020 on that topic.

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