At a funeral

Two days ago I drove out of town to attend the funeral of the mother of a very good friend of mine.  She was 84 and had had a stroke so it wasn't the tragic death of a young person, but she was a much beloved mother and long-time member of her community, so I was anticipating an extremely sorrowful event.  I took a deep breath to prepare myself as I entered the funeral home and joined the line of those last-minute mourners who wished to have a word with the family before the funeral.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the atmosphere to be not subdued at all, but rather buzzing with chat and news.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it was cheerful but it wasn't melancholy at all.  I was intrigued and, incorrigible people watcher that I am, I had to listen and watch to figure out why this would be so.  It didn't take long to figure out that the reason the atmosphere was non-funereal was because these were members of a Community re-uniting, re-discovering each other and exchanging tidbits.  I use the capital "C" purposefully because the sense of community in that place was palpable.  Obviously we were all drawn together for a common reason and through common acquaintance, but it was more than that.  Most of these people knew each other through one venue or another in this small town, and the unexpectedness I felt was that bonding and communicating.  

I have to say that it was quite a lovely thing.  I also felt really good knowing that my friend and her family are going to have lots of support as they go through the grieving process.

Moved to tears

I haven't been so moved by a real-life event in a long time.

Yesterday my family and I were returning from an afternoon outing about a half hour from our home.  As we drove along the highway we noticed, on one of the overpasses, a large number of people and several fire engines.  A number of people were hanging Canadian flags over the side of the bridge, and everyone was looking down the highway underneath apparently waiting for someone.

Ordinarily not that remarkable a deal, except that we saw the same thing on every single overpass bridge we passed on the way back home.  Hundreds and hundreds of people had come, parked their cars along the sides of any road they could, and were standing facing the oncoming traffic below.  In every case a number of people were either waving Canadian flags or hanging them over the side.  Fire trucks were there, in one case with a ladder raised and also waving a Canadian flag.  It turns out that the crowds were there through police and fire departments, local Legions and general public, to show their support as the procession carrying a soldier killed in Afghanistan made its way through to his hometown.  It was a tragic occasion, but there was something inexpressibly beautiful in the sheer numbers of those out to show their respect for this man -- for what he was, and what he had been trying to do for his country.

I could only imagine the reactions of his family as they were greeted, bridge after bridge, by hundreds and hundreds of people honouring the family member they had just lost.

Yes, human beings as a species can be mean-spirited, egocentric and even truly evil.  But people can also be almost unbearably beautiful.

Bless those who came out.  And may all those working at truly thankless tasks in order to try to make this world a better place know how profoundly and how widely they are appreciated.