Respectance.com

From October 7-10 we will be attending the National Funeral Director Association International Convention in Las Vegas. We will be live blogging some of the sessions for all to follow and enjoy. Check back for updates featuring the new developments in the death care community. Or, if you’re at the event, please visit us. We will be the handsomely attired duo at booth 1146. If you sign up as a business member during the conference we’ll have a special prize for you. See you there!

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The Techcrunch event started yesterday and Dana Oshiro and I went to meet some other cool companies at the Fluid Ultra Lounge. Thanks to Boris and Patrick of Fleck.com for putting us on the guestlist.

It felt like the entire world was represented at this party just two blocks away from our office. The majority of the attendees were men, Dana was one of the few women, and many were investors. It seems like they are all trying to find the hot new deal. There were opportunities galore, for sure. Some pics we took last night:

1. Boris of Fleck and Hrach Simonian of Canaan partners talking to Dana.
2. Richard and Dana of Respectance having a good time with Tanya Porquez of Techcrunch.
3. The guys of Fleck and Salim Ismail of Yahoo doing a Japanese tradition.

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Not so long ago, 9-1-1 meant a call for help in North America. You could go to almost any phone, dial the three digits and be assured that police, fire or ambulance would come to your rescue. Now, SIX years later, 9-11 has taken on a dual meaning. It’s easy to think of 9-11 as an event, and to forget about the broader tragedy of the almost 3000 individuals who lost their lives.

When the terrorists attacked the World Trade Centre in New York, innocent people did what they have been conditioned to do for decades. They called 9-1-1 for help. The dispatchers, also innocent people did the best they could to help those trapped in the burning buildings. Call after call came in, police, fire and ambulance were dispatched over and over again.

The operators must have sensed the urgency in the calls, the victims at some point realized the futility of their actions. Those who could escape, did often in harrowing conditions. Those that could not, made the choices they had to make. Some called their loved ones, some left messages on answering machines. At some awful point in time they began to break windows, and hang out to try and escape the horror of the heat, flames and smoke. I imagine that some chose to jump rather than stay, holding hands with friends, colleagues, perhaps even strangers to make their passage less lonely.

Let’s remember all the innocents who died singly and in groups, who at the end wanted to have someone with them. Let’s remember their families, who now have to find solace in the memories of their loved ones. And let’s remember that lives lost on September 11, 2001 will forever be more important than any ’cause’ of the terrorists.

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