DelBloggolo: OH, THE INDIGNITY OF IT ALL!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

OH, THE INDIGNITY OF IT ALL!

As I sat there in the front row, gazing down on the casket, that somehow claimed a truly good man and mentor, my mentor, the man that gave me not only inspiration, but help when I needed it most: my dear Uncle Frank was gone!

It was the final hour of his wake, as the funeral director began to organize everyone to start the procession that would lead out of the funeral parlor and to our cars, where we would drive to the Mausoleum for the final interment.

Sadness seemed to creep over the room that wasn’t there before, as we silently began to gather. Since I was in front, I led the group away and we marched to the back of the room toward the vestibule and then the parking lot. No one said anything as we moved, all of us lost in our own thoughts.

Florida is an interesting place. It seems its existence is predicated on accommodating tourist and vacationers with places for amusements and restaurants that shout out loudly: “come on in and have a great meal for a great price!” One such restaurant happened to be behind the funeral parlor and as I walked out I thought how intrusive it seemed at this moment! My mind was drifting and I noticed that the sun was bright, so I reached for my sunglasses and noticed some schmutz on one of the lenses and so proceed to wipe them clean as I approached the door.

The doorway looked wide open, the sun pouring through, as I pointed my steps toward the exit, wiping, wiping and wiping, when suddenly BAM! Right into what I thought was the glass door, but was instead a floor to ceiling window! The shock was less than the pain in my head, which was less than the embarrassment of the scene I created! What WAS a solemn moment was suddenly turned into a giggling hysteric, suppressed by a very conscious attempt at stifling a real need for people to wet their pants while laughing so hard at me!

I am a schmuck. Yes, that is correct, you read that right, a schmuck!