An Inner Memorial

Something strange can happen at the end of a relationship between people with perpendicular hobbies and tastes, says Dr. Robert Gorney, professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

When one dies, the other may take on some of his or her formerly irritating activities. All of a sudden, his beloved Tammy Wynette singles and campfire songs start playing on the opera-loving widow’s stereo. The Republican husband who was appalled when his wife harried Richard Nixon at the fall finds himselfgasp!supporting Democrats.

“It’s a common phenomenon when spouses die and a staunch Republican all of a sudden flips into an active Democrat, and his friends think he’s gone mad,” Gorney says. “What he’s doing is setting up a memorial inside himself. Suddenly, he no longer wants these grating activities kiboshed.”