Growing up, there were two funeral homes in our town. One has since closed so the community is left with one.
It’s located in the next block and, as kids, when there weren’t funerals, it was a nice place to play. Well, actually, the driveway was since it went completely through the block and there was a ridge in the middle.
I’ve been to a number of funerals there and both of our parents’ were held there.
I found out about a week ago that a childhood friend of mine had passed away. There were a group of us who were inseparable at high school, he was a roommate at university for a year, and he was in our wedding party.
In any year except for this one, we would have been in the car and taking the three and a half-hour drive to his Celebration of Life. There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t be doing this at this time. In a perfect world, the funeral place would have been packed. Not this year.
We were fortunate that the funeral home live streamed the Celebration on Friday and we could watch it from here. The guest book, that would normally have been in the doorway as you enter the room, is now online.
The Celebration was mostly normal for the few that were able to attend, I suppose. It was different for the rest of us. It felt almost creepy watching in, hearing the floor boards squeeking, the social distancing, and the masks.
I appreciate that the funeral home did the broadcast. I truly do.
But, it completely sucked. As the testaments from family, friends, and former coaches indicate, he was a wonderful man. He deserved much better.
doug --- off the record 