Tips From Dead People

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Busytown

Come join me in Oakland!

Mary McGreevy's avatar
Mary McGreevy
Aug 18, 2026
Cross-posted by Tips From Dead People
"Unreasonably excited to be cooking up this beautiful IRL evening with Mary of Tips from Dead People! Come join us on August 26th at 6pm in Oakland, CA to read real obituaries, uncover the tiny, unexpected ways people lived meaningful lives, and let those stories gently (and boldly) reflect us back to ourselves. Can't wait to meet you and exchange some unforgettable connections! "
- Vanessa Li

If you, like me, have always dreamed of living in Busytown, I’d like to know which character you identify with the most.

Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town: Richard Scarry: 9780307168030: Amazon ...

For me, it has always been Bugdozer — the lurker in the corner who sees everything. He’s not in the mix unless he wants to be, but he’s a full citizen of this industrious, chaotic community that seems to bring out the best in most, but not all, people. (I’m looking at you, Bananas Gorilla.)

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It’s probably a ludicrous question, but are there any IRL analogs to Busytown? A city that has a fine bakery, houses made of shoes, and a massive shipyard? Let me know if you find one and I’ll meet you there.

In the meantime, let’s meet in person! There’s a community space in Oakland called Local Economy, whose tagline is “An antidote to chaos and isolation.” I’m in! Get in, we’re going to find the antidote to chaos! I’m SO excited to share that I’ll be at this gem of a place on Weds August 26. My co-conspirator in creativity, Vanessa Li, and I have cooked up an event at Local Economy called “Tiny Lessons from Obituaries: Stories that Could Change Your Life.” We’ll hear from some dead people AND get a chance to consider how our own stories will be told.

Here’s the link to register. I hope to see you there!

I’m starting to take Tips from Dead People out from behind a screen and into real spaces with real time storytelling and I couldn’t be more excited. And grateful, to have smart inspiring people like Vanessa and Tomatokind Magazine guiding the way.

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