 |
| The Riderless Horse from the funeral procession of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the USA. |
Death is a somewhat unfortunate reality of life. It has been said that in life, there are only two things for certain: Death... and Taxes. While perhaps not the most lighthearted of subjects, it is an important part of allowing those of us still living to grieve, pay our respects, and move on while remembering those who had an impact on our lives.
In the post "Social Awkwardness" from the 2nd of September, I mentioned that I was at a funeral of sorts that weekend past. Although in technicality, it was more of a sober wake for one of the good gentlemen of the N-Gauge Guild Of South Africa, who I have mentioned before on this blog. My condolences to his family again. It is always a shame when the world loses good people.
Being the first funeral/wake that I had ever been to, I will admit to have been being unsure how exactly to deal with going to such a thing, despite my sureness of wanting to pay my respects to him and his family. Today's common media had led to me to expect people crying while wearing very dark clothing and very little talk or laughter while the actual event was a lot more akin to a pleasant remembrance of the passed with a few somber jokes about his habits for good measure.
It is an interesting thing to consider how precisely it is that people in the world want to be remembered once they are no longer among us. Some wish to have grand funerals in cathedrals, with every person they ever met there to see their passing. Others wish to have small and fairly jovial gatherings of those that were important to them, so that they can happily reminisce about their experiences with those no longer among us.
It is perhaps one of the most revealing factors of who a person is to see how it is precisely that they wish to be remembered. The proud and ambitious wish for a large and grandeur filled funeral. The friend oriented hope for a wake, with a drink taken in their memory, and a kind-hearted joke in their honour. And others have many other ways that they wish to be remembered, too numerous in their counting to all be mentioned.
It has been said by many in a variety of ways, but it is commonly believed that a persons legacy is not what they leave behind after they pass on, but in the stories told about them when they are no longer there to hear what is said. Some people are forgotten with snide remarks, and others praised for generations more as paragons in their lifetimes. In the case of the kind gentleman from the aforementioned funeral, I believe his stories will all be fondly remembered and retold for a long time to come, their joy as happily passed on through words as they were by his presence and actions.
By the way, if you happen to ever come to my funeral by any chance, I will mention that my will is going to entail the hiring of bodyguards to eject anyone who cries from the event. If you aren't laughing by the time "Another One Bites The Dust" starts playing or when they start telling jokes about all the miserably unintelligent things I've done in my life already, then do me a favor and kick whoever planned the event in the shins. I've always made a point of trying to bring joy to peoples lives in life, I would prefer that I do that afterward too if that's alright with you.
In any case, that's enough about this morose subject. If you found this post particularly thought provoking for any reason, then be sure to let us here at TCSA know in the comments below or via Facebook/Twitter. We love to hear from you guys. And of course, your sharing of our posts with people is always thoroughly appreciated, as is your liking of our official TCSA Facebook page and/or following of us on Twitter in the event that you would like to read more articles like this, as they're posted to the web. Regardless of what you do though, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.
Live long and prosper my friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment