A funeral doesn't stop the show.
- If you excuse yourself from the funeral procession that is on the way to the grave site to make a pit stop at the store for a case of beer in hopes of making it back in the procession without being missed, you just might be a redneck.
- If you excuse yourself from the graveside service because nature is calling and you head to the trees to relieve yourself only to be seen coming out of the woods zipping up, you just might be a redneck.
My 38 year old cousin passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. He had suffered many ailments throughout his life and was not in the best health; however his death was a surprise to many. It was especially surprising to those who were the closest to him; his two beautiful sisters, his mother and father as well as the rest of his extended family; cousins, aunts and uncles.
When I paid my respects that Friday evening, his sisters were speaking with the Pastor about some of the many memories that they shared with their brother....... For a brief moment you could see a little twinkle in their tear stained eyes and a smile brighten up their faces. Of course in true Angie fashion I had to put my two cents worth in and we all started talking about “when we were kids.” We talked about how our awesome Granny would cook EVERY weekend, Saturday and Sunday for the entire family. On any given Saturday or Sunday there could be at least 30 or more people at her house (single wide trailer with no central heat or air and no dishwasher) She would cook chicken, fresh beans or peas, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, soup, biscuits, cornbread, corn on the cob, pot roast, meat loaf, collard greens or turnip greens or both, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say her cooking would put any buffet to shame. Everything was ALWAYS homemade and most of the time from Papas garden. Don’t even get me started on her homemade desserts.
It was during these gatherings that the small army of cousins could most of the time be found getting into some sort of mischief. We would walk to the river, go fishing or swimming or both, try to walk on a frozen beaver ponds, play endless hours of softball in our dirt yards (we really didn't have that much grass), pretend to make moonshine, play hide and go seek, jump out of poison ivy drenched trees into the river, play with turtle eggs (yes turtle eggs, they bounce), cuss, steal beer out of unsuspecting parent's coolers, cuss some more, argue and fight, but most of all, love, laugh and make memories. We made memories not realizing that 20 or more years later we would be sharing them because one of our own would be gone. Thank God for those memories.
Now you are probably wondering what all of this has to do with how this story began, with the redneck jokes. Well I shall enlighten you all. My family that would be mainly my mom and brothers think I put EVERYTHING on Facebook. Well that is simply not true. There are tons of stories I could share, however as with everything else in life, it is all about the timing. And God has a funny sense of timing..... I unfortunately could not attend the service on Saturday due to a prior commitment that could not be broken that I actually had forgotten all about…. However I was quickly told about the day and as with most Garner gatherings, there was some sort of shenanigan occurring, not even a funeral can stop them.
My cousin sent me a message to tell me that even through their tears, they have found laughter and it was because of another cousin and an uncle that they have been able to find that laughter. (I am omitting the names only because I didn’t ask them for permission and I know I could ask for forgiveness later, just trying to do the right thing just this one time though, don’t get used to it people)
Apparently as the funeral service was wrapping up one of the cousins found it a prime opportunity to head out in front of everyone to make a stop at the store for a little fuel and a drinky drink. The problem is they just weren’t fast enough. As he is making is exit from the store with a case of beer, there goes my cousin in his final ride to his resting place along with the rest of the family. Then as the family is gathered at the grave side paying their last respects one of the uncles is spotted coming out of the woods after a quick trip to relieve himself, his bladder just could not wait a minute longer.
Now there are some people that would think, how redneck and I can’t say that I would not disagree. But it’s that kind of redneck that my cousin lived and loved. After all, he was a simple man. His sister said, "this is exactly as he would have wanted it and it was the perfect way to send him off." She went on to say that her sister wanted to share this story for the world to know about the family that they love so dearly. And since I love telling stories, I volunteered to help her with the story.
In my lifetime, I have found laughter in some of the most painful situations. The laughter to me was truly the medicine that I needed. And the laughter that my cousins, his sister have found is just how their brother wanted it and is what they needed. They have laughed until they cried which is much better than crying until you laugh. As the weeks go by, they will not miss their dear brother any less, they will however be able to look back and reflect on his final days and know that even in his death memories were made
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