Yet another instance of maladroit phrasing in speaking of the departed:
“Mr. Derbyshire—This isn’t timely now, but a few weeks ago the heir to
Walmart died and a friend of mine sent me this. From MSN.com: ‘Wal-Mart
heir John T. Walton, who died in the crash of his experimental, ultralight
aircraft, was remembered as a down-to-earth man who threw his considerable
financial support behind efforts to educate low-income children.’
“Maybe it’s just me. It seems like an unwise choice of words to describe a
person as ‘down to earth’ who died by crashing his aircraft into the
ground.”
No, Ma’am, it’s not just you. Inappropriate tributes to a deceased
person… Hmmm… I feel another competition coming on.