My aunt had been bedridden for six years. She was joyful in spite of her situation. But it was difficult to watch her slow decline and her failing memory. Last week, her body finally gave up and she passed on to her eternal life. This week, her daughter had arranged for the funeral service. She had asked several men to be pallbearers. One of the men has recently lost a lot of weight, and his mother told me that he was having difficulty keeping his trousers up. Apparently he hadn’t invested in either a belt or suspenders. He shall remain nameless to protect the “innocent”.
In talking with my cousin today, the day after the funeral, I mentioned this trouser challenge. We spent some good moments considering what would have happened had his trousers slipped their moorings.
Imagine if he had been carrying the coffin to the hearse using both hands when his trousers dropped to his ankles. What to do? If he let go of the coffin to grab his trousers, the whole group might drop the coffin. That wouldn’t do.
If the trousers slipped down around his ankles and he couldn’t pull them up, then he would have to shuffle bare legged to the hearse. It might be the beginning of a whole new funeral dance.
I can’t imagine what the relatives would have said or done had that really happened, but the image of that predicament gives me a smile, and I hope it will cause some joy when sadness threatens to overwhelm.
In talking with my cousin today, the day after the funeral, I mentioned this trouser challenge. We spent some good moments considering what would have happened had his trousers slipped their moorings.
Imagine if he had been carrying the coffin to the hearse using both hands when his trousers dropped to his ankles. What to do? If he let go of the coffin to grab his trousers, the whole group might drop the coffin. That wouldn’t do.
If the trousers slipped down around his ankles and he couldn’t pull them up, then he would have to shuffle bare legged to the hearse. It might be the beginning of a whole new funeral dance.
I can’t imagine what the relatives would have said or done had that really happened, but the image of that predicament gives me a smile, and I hope it will cause some joy when sadness threatens to overwhelm.