Death Sucks

Funerals blow. Today was Gerald's service and it was nice. Here is the link to the obit. http://www.legacy.com/SacBee/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=96787333 Come to find out the quiet and always smiley bridge inspector Gerald was a flaming Hippie! The things you find out when folks die. As we were sitting in the Funeral home waiting for the Officiators from St. Francis Assisi to begin they had a video/slide presentation of the life of the deceased and seeing pictures of Gerald from the 60's to the 90's was enlightening. Tie dye and VW vans aside my eyes were made open to the limitless possibilities of some outrageous side burns. Lamb Chops from the sixties were on a totally different plane from what I have known in my young life to be "en voge." The creativity was markedly more dynamic than what one would see on your usually UTA/Greyhound trip. The pictures were epiphanal. For the actual service it was mediocre. Not that it wasn't pleasant or solemn but for the most part it was chamber music followed by read prayers and repeat. All of which was greatly void of any English, St. Francis must of had a predilection for Latin.
The graveside was almost entirely missed by my car load in large part to the delinquence of local law enforcement in being unable to successfully run a congruent motorcade. I followed a car w/ lights on that pulled out of the funeral home parking lot that led me, and about 20 other cars that were in tow, to his house. Note** If at a memorial w/ no intentions of participating in the procession turn your bloody lights OFF! Eventually we made it to the cemetery in time to drop a handful of dirt in the hole. Speaking of holes, due to our tardiness we were at the back of the crowd, and struck up conversation w/ some of the grounds keeping personnel of which I asked a enterprising young man named Cesar a question about hole digging. "If it takes 2 men 12 hours to dig 5 holes how long does it take 4 men to dig half a hole?" He said, "Ine no good at math I juss mow de grass." I chuckled.