Laughs at a Funeral

Today found us at a funeral - no Ken - just me, mother, Aunt Sheila, and Grandma Frieda. As funerals usually are, this one was solemn. However, this blog post is dedicated to Grandma Frieda who busted out with some laughs at the luncheon following the service and burial.

The luncheon after the funeral was held in the basement of the funeral home in Independence. Overall, I have to say it had some of the best funeral food I've had in a while: egg salad sandwiches, chips, veggies, and an assorted blend of cakes and bars. I say it was good because not many people can make a good egg salad sandwich anymore, but the folks at this place did it up right. On a side note, this food was representative of many a Lutheran funeral although it was missing the requisite red jello with pears suspended in it, potato salad, and the occasional ham salad sandwich, which is becoming a rarity at funerals these days - to the chagrin of many a Lutheran.

At the luncheon sat the four of us plus two people Grandma Frieda recognized from previous days of square dancing. The conversation at the table covered the usual funeral talk: comments on the food, the length of time it took to get to the cemetery, why the family didn't have the burial at a closer cemetery, the length of time it took at the cemetery, and of course more commentary on the food.

As I sat down to begin enjoying my egg salad sandwich, I heard Grandma Frieda asking her square dance friends about some others she used to know. I listened for a bit but then got up to get more iced tea. Thinking I wouldn't miss anything was sure a mistake. In the roughly 15 seconds it took me to get up, get tea, and return to the table, I missed a major piece of the conversation as what I heard next involved some story about a missing man who just "disappeared" in the 1960s (I think) and the comment that it was in some way mob/mafia related. "What?!" says I when I returned, for this was not the usual funeral luncheon talk. How could I have missed anything so interesting?

While somewhat dismayed at having missed the mafia story, my sadness didn't long because Grandma started sharing with the other two at the table stories about the deceased's ex-wife. It was funny on varying levels: 1) grandma was telling how the woman used to work at a place where she had to wear a skimpy bunny outfit which was funny just in the away she described it, 2) grandma was talking loud enough that people at other tables could have easily heard, and 3) my mom made the funniest faces trying to shush Grandma and halt the telling of the story as we were sitting at a table close to where one of the deceased's children and his family were sitting.

I just loved how Grandma had no reservations about saying what she did. She doesn't hold back and, in this case, it made for a very interesting post-funeral lunch. I know it's one I'll remember for a while. Way to keep it real at the funeral, Grandma!