Well of course I did not sign away any rights. I don't think you are right about the marital property of pension plans. The way we structured our (my husband's) pension plan was that if either of us dies, the survivor will receive the exact same amount regardless of which one of us it is. There were many, many ways we could have done this. However my brother who lived in NYS at the time he started to collect his pension, chose an option where his widow (and such she is) gets much less than he was collecting. I don't think anyone would get pension money due if the pensioner died before retiring but I don't really know about that one.

It is sort of like social security. I have a friend who is widowed and who herself made a very nice income for a number of years as a realtor. She simply can not understand why she no longer receives her own social security, even though what she gets from her husband's social security is more than she received on her own! She keeps thinking hers is lost somewhere!

Actually my other friend (the one with the Florida house) owns everything in her own name.
I have another friend who wanted legally to deprive her husband of his interest in their home should she predecease him. She did not want him to have a house to share with another woman!

You are right of course about the new ways of marrying or sharing living quarters. Heck even people our age (I mean mine) do it.

lady of shallot wrote:It is sort of like social security. I have a friend who is widowed and who herself made a very nice income for a number of years as a realtor. She simply can not understand why she no longer receives her own social security, even though what she gets from her husband's social security is more than she received on her own! She keeps thinking hers is lost somewhere!

LOL. SS will pay the greater amount of the two. Your friend makes more from her husband, she can't get both.

Back to the short stories. I have just downloaded "Death in Venice", Thomas Mann. It's from a collection of Mann's short stories. I'm really looking forward to reading this. Actually, the new fiction selection thread will be starting soon, I thought I would suggest it for the next fiction discussion, the whole collection, not just the one story. Would you be interested in reading this?

"Magic Mountain" was great! A movie was made of this novel, I watched part of it online. It was in German, couldn't understand the dialogue, but it was great to see the atmosphere of the place. The facility in MM actually exsists, it is truly beautiful.

I have Magic Mountain, don't know if I have death in Venice. They also made a movie of that with Dirk Bogarde I think. I always think I have my bookshelves in good order till I drive myself crazy looking for a book!

Yes, to the reading. How long does this group allow for the discussion (I mean reading?)

lady of shallot wrote:Yes, to the reading. How long does this group allow for the discussion (I mean reading?)

Huck Finn is just winding up. The next fiction discussion will begin in March. Typically a fiction discussion will last two months, of course this can change depending on the length of the book and the interest shown.

The selection process for our next fiction discussion will begin within the next couple of weeks. The book of short stories I have in mind to nominate for our next fiction discussion is; “Death in Venice and Other Stories”, by Thomas Mann. There are seven short stories in this book. Another Thomas Mann novel I’m itching to read is; “Buddenbrooks".

Each member with 25 or more posts is welcomed to nominate a book of fiction. The goal is to have several suggested novels, and then a poll will be provided for members to vote on for the next selection for discussion. I do hope you will consider joining in for our next discussion.

I've study it in my course literature short story. quite creepy but interesting to degree that me and colleague chose it for our final exam.
its a bit Gothic.. and i really didnt like her husband lol

This is a short story that very much has had a lasting impact upon me after reading it. I first read it within the collection of Daughters of Decadence: Female Writers of the Fin De Siecle and it is the story that stands out the most. It did haunt me, as good literature does. I was unsettled by it and ten years after reading it at University, I can still very much recall not only the story but the tone, the feeling I had reading it.

LOVE this story!! I read it in two different classes in school and in both classes, the reactions from other students was awesome. Definitely a dark, creepy story...