Funerals on this day of woe

The skies are turning hazy and the western sky is turning blue-grey. I don't think we'll get rain tonight, but it is definitely going to look like it at least for awhile. I attended a funeral in Barnesville for Norman Smith, a lawyer down there. Norman was a good guy. He was diagnosed with a type of cancer several years ago. The last few years of his life were treatment and a very quiet life, predominately at home. Winding down his practice. Winding down his life. There were a few lawyers at the funeral, but not as many as you might expect. It was kind of sad.

This is not the first time I have seen this at funerals. The only funerals that I attended where there was a large crowd of colleagues was for Johnny Mostiler and Judge Whalen. Both funerals drew large crowds and a large group of lawyers. It makes you wonder.

It makes you wish you could relive the scene in Tom Sawyer and attend your own funeral. Just to see what people might say about you. When I envisioned myself, living the life of a lawyer in a small town in the south, I hoped that I would live a life where I would have the respect of the townfolk and that my funeral would be well-attended by the local citizenry. But these are different times. Peoples' lives can't be bothered with a few hours to honor the lives of those who have passed on to their greater reward. I know a lot of people don't like funerals. Too stuffy. Too much of a reminder of the end to which we all come.

No one wants to be reminded of the end to which we all come. We are too wrapped up in trying to reclaim our youth. We are too wrapped up in ourselves, rather than our connections to our brothers and sisters. When Bob Smalley passed away, I expected a large crowd to fill the sanctuary at St. George Episcopal Church. I even expected a few famous Georgia politicians, maybe even a former President, since Bob had been involved in politics and the practice of law for so long. But I was surprised to find a small crowd of just a part of the local bar. Mostly the lawyers who attended St. George. It was kind of sad.

Life is for the living, no doubt. But we are at least partially comprised of those who came before. We should take some time to consider their lives and their examples.