The viewing...

One of the most talked about things during the whole process of the funeral arrangements was having an open casket. Having never been to a funeral, very naive and fed a steady diet of television, I imagined that apart from mod hits to the face, every funeral had an open casket affair. There are many reasons in which an open casket is not welcomed. More respectfully on the earthly realm, it might upset some of the attendees of the funeral. On a more spiritual level, the church itself might have traditions against an open casket.

At the viewing a handful of people showed up. For some reason I expected more, but that was the optimist in me. I did realize that somewhere along the lines not many people would show up, not because my dad wasn't close to people, but because it was a viewing and after what I learned in that week people are uncomfortable. I did pretty well in holding my composure, it seemed a bit harder to keep it with the people who did come showing their compassion. I was actually a bit happy though, my grandma however was quite sad, sad for most of the time there. I kinda lightened up the time with my brother talking about how cheap my black shoes were. They were 20 bucks I told him. The pants I also got from Winners which was also 20 dollars. Overall I was pretty damn proud that my ensemble was under $60 which seemed to have amused my brother.

There was a point where I just felt bored. I mean there wasn't much people to talk to. It was a time of mourning and yet I felt this was a good feeling because it only prepared me for saying something about my dad the next day at the funeral. It made me feel I could keep my composure enough to get through a speech. We ended the night, leaving my dad. He looked very good, very handsome and he had a small wry smile through it all.