Over
Our Heads
My mother's memorial service
was yesterday. The event was attended
chiefly
by family as she'd reached an age where
most of her friends had long passed on.
I mention
this
because
during
the eulogy the pastor paused during his
awkward mad-libs of random events in my
mother's life, standard operating procedure
of the funerary business in these parts,
and asked if any of us would like to share
a story
or
anecdote
about our beloved Mumsy. I was not surprised
that no one moved or raised a hand as
we, her family, all knew
the stories
and,
to be frank, they were none of this guy's
business. To be sure, there are stories
of
my mother, and father, that need to be
told but that's for another day and another
medium.
After the ceremony the larger proportion
of us caravanned to a local barbeque
joint where
we occupied a respectably vast swath of
tables, then proceeded to alternately
reminisce and correct one other
about family lore for far longer than
was probably
acceptable by the management.
Eventually I was chauffered back to the
funeral home, where I'd left my car, and
as I was
reaching for my keys I noticed a small
building behind the chapel marked "Crematory".
From its chimney a clear, hot bolus of
gas was
furiously roiling into the sky. Without
doubt I was witnessing my mother's transition
from one physical plane of existence to
another as she rejoined the cosmos.
Many
people are uncomfortable with the idea
of cremation but it
pleased me to know that at least some
of my mother's atoms were now free to participate
in the vast mystery of the universe rather than remain
trapped forever in an earthen tomb.
Good travels, mom. And thanks for the DNA.
------------
By a wonderful coincidence,
Dan Piraro of "Bizarro" fame, ran a cartoon
today that
's eerily similar to mine. He gets major
props for having drawn his version a few
weeks ago. Click for a larger version.
For the record, ah LUVS me
some Bizarro and the funny pages are going
to be a much emptier place when Dan kills
the strip, which should be just abut any
day now. Sigh.
=Lefty=
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