One More on the Family, Possibly Funny

My parents were interred here and it's not a morbid thing for me since the one thing about funerals I know for sure is the star of the show isn't there.  If there really is a Heaven, the star flew the coop long before this moment.

Most of the family gathered for this time since likely at least a few of us (i.e. me) would probably never see it again.  I really don't understand why people take cemeteries so seriously since the one thing anyone knows is there's no-one in them.

Sometimes there are scenes from movies in which people talk to some grave site of a departed lover but, in my world, the lover is either everywhere or nowhere at all so those scenes don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

The location is Spring Grove Cemetery, a cemetery with renown across the country since it's beautiful and the second-largest in America.


There is a funny part coming.  Roll with it.

Note:  I did comport myself well at one funeral and I am proud of doing that but the details are private.  Those involved with that situation know I rarely attend funerals so it was important both ways.

So I did comport myself well once ... but this was not that time (larfs).


Not surprisingly, I was hammered, as is my wont, and everyone was so deadly serious it was a bit of an effort to keep a straight face.  The Soldier gave my ol' Mother a heartfelt eulogy which, of course, was a beautiful thing.  Overall, the somber tone was highly surreal, tho.

As the eldest, it was my responsibility to take the urn and put it inside the whatever you call it.

(Ed:  but there was a problem with that?)

Yep.  Read on (larfs).

I had been a persona non grata with the family for quite a while as my pro-peace stance hasn't exactly been a big hit with some but this stunt would have sent me to family exile permanently.

I picked up the urn and was walking to place it but I typically wore sandals and ...

(Ed:  you dropped it!)

Slow down, hombre.

I did trip and that was when the thought came, 'they're going to burn you at the stake, boy.'  All had gathered for the moment which was so deadly serious to them only to see me chuck the 'rents into the stratosphere.  Oh, sure, well done.  Well done!


There is another recent article regarding Greek vs American funeral customs and of course the 'rents weren't an anthropological exercise but this aspect of it was since it was so compound weird it defies any description.

Much love to the 'rents wherever they are.