Neighbor's Funeral

Last night Travalon and I took our boat out for a ride. This was only the second ride of the summer, and the sun was already going down, so we knew it would be a short one. We went back into the marsh, but it was so weedy that we gave up and went out to the lake, far enough out to see downtown in the distance. There was a beautiful sunset, and I took a couple of pictures, but they really don’t do it justice. It was getting dark by the time we headed back, and we didn’t have a light for the boat… and then the motor died. At first we weren’t too worried, but Travalon was unable to get any sign of life from it, so we sighed and grabbed the paddles. Fortunately another boat came by and towed us in. We have been lucky like that whenever we have motor problems, or maybe it is just that other boaters are always willing to lend a helping hand.

This morning I went to the funeral of a neighbor, and I was shocked to realize nobody else was wearing black except the family. Is there a rule I missed that you aren’t supposed to wear black to a funeral unless you are related to the deceased? I didn’t really know anyone there, but then another neighbor came and sat next to me during the Mass. We saw some of our other neighbors behind us, but they disappeared immediately afterwards, and the lady who sat next to me had to get going, so I just went into work. They were having a luncheon at a nearby restaurant, but I thought that would have been awkward if I didn’t know anyone there. I have to say the deceased was one of the people I always talked to at neighborhood functions, so if she were there, I would have gone, but of course she can’t be at her own funeral luncheon. Too bad, because she was a very entertaining lady. She died in her sleep at an advanced age, which is what most of us are hoping for. Of course, I know those random people who want to be martyred by polar bears, but I’d like to go exactly like Travalon’s grandfather: taking a nap under a tree on a sunny day, after a long life. How does it get better than that?

Famous Hat