Christopher Gray, the longtime New York Times “Streetscapes” columnist, had an unusual final request: after his death, he wanted his skeleton articulated and displayed at his old school, St. Paul’s.
He even donated $25,000 and offered to double it if they kept him on display for ten years—or until the senior class stole him, whichever came first.
Years later, his daughter Olivia collected the finished skeleton in Washington and decided that simply delivering him to New Hampshire would be terribly dull.
So they made a trip of it.
He visited the Lincoln Memorial, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard. He sat in the backyard. He went to the beach. He went kayaking. He joined the family for dinner. He met grandchildren born after his death.
And then she strapped him into an open-cockpit biplane and took the flight they had once meant to take together.
Eventually, she delivered him to St. Paul’s, where he remains part memorial, part anatomy lesson, and part standing challenge to generations of seniors.
Some men prepare for posterity.
Others give posterity something to do.
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