Saturday, December 11, 1999
Funereal Festivities - to LTF
I know this is going to sound like a made up excuse--my uncle [the husband of my mother's sister, who died 1.5 years ago], the uncle I loved to hate, died very early and unexpectedly Monday (a massive coronary). We are quite close to his kids and despite my dislike for him he was a very popular man, involved in several organizations. The whole week has been filled with get-togethers with relatives, friends and acquaintances as well as "The Viewing" yesterday. God, I hate viewings, even though the bodies I've seen don't look bad; they just never look like people, and they certainly don't look like sleeping people. "The Funeral" is today. I don't know about any other faith but Christians drag these things on forever. Aside from that, it seems the crematorium and funeral home have been backed up with deaths which is extending everything even more. The holiday season is a very popular time to die. "The Interment" won't be until Tuesday. They can't get him in the oven until Monday. So, everyone is taking advantage of the extra time to schedule a few more memorials over the weekend. My mother's family is famous for turning funerals into festive get-togethers. My mother's cousin noted at my grandfather's funeral several years ago that "it's a good thing people in this family die, otherwise we'd never see eachother!"
My uncle would be thrilled. He was the kind of man who liked this kind of attention. In fact, I'd wager that he lived his life in a manner that would guarantee him an After Life Extravaganza. It's been an exhausting week, especially for Mom. She's still reeling from our next door neighbor's death and her sister's. She's taking a great deal of comfort in all the sociality. You know what's amazing, it's almost worse to lose someone you hate (Mom didn't care much for him either, which is extraordinary; he's one of only two people for whom I've ever heard my mom express dislike, mild or otherwise) than it is someone you love. It's much harder to find people worthy of hatred than it is people worthy of love or no particular emotional attachment.
My uncle would be thrilled. He was the kind of man who liked this kind of attention. In fact, I'd wager that he lived his life in a manner that would guarantee him an After Life Extravaganza. It's been an exhausting week, especially for Mom. She's still reeling from our next door neighbor's death and her sister's. She's taking a great deal of comfort in all the sociality. You know what's amazing, it's almost worse to lose someone you hate (Mom didn't care much for him either, which is extraordinary; he's one of only two people for whom I've ever heard my mom express dislike, mild or otherwise) than it is someone you love. It's much harder to find people worthy of hatred than it is people worthy of love or no particular emotional attachment.
