Sketchism

Today was an odd day. It consisted of a funeral, a trip to the dog park, and a banana split.

I’ve only attended one funeral prior to today’s. Earlier this year my friend Geoffrey’s father passed away. Last week my friend April’s older sister, Melissa, died. I prepared for Melissa’s funeral by dressing up in all black, referring to movies where everyone did that sort of thing. Knowing that the service started at 5 pm, I dressed this way to work so I could go directly afterwards. Walking into my job, people complimented me on how nice I looked, asking me what the fancy occasion was with big smiles on their faces. I sheepishly looked at them and told them I was attending a funeral. Their smiles turned to frowns immediately and they apologized. It’s ok, you didn’t know. I smiled and went to my desk and began to work.

After work I arrived at the church. I took a deep breath and walked through the doors where I could hear the sobs of strangers and classical music playing through the sanctuary speakers. I arrived a bit earlier than the funeral and I could see the open casket from a distance. In it lay a gentle body sleeping and calm. I dare not approach the casket in front of all the people. I never even knew the girl. And yet I wanted to see her. There’s a strange curiousity with seeing a body with no spiritual substance within it. I’ve seen plenty of dead characters in movies, but never a corpse with my own eyes.

The family and friends grieved the lost life. The pastor spoke about hope, about salvation through Christ, about Him calming the storms of our own lives if we would surrender our hearts. He talked about the shame of a life lost so young and that we all too would die someday. It was a powerful 20 minutes of music, tears, and silence. Afterward I ate some fried chicken and peach cobbler that the church provided and was on my way home.

On my way, my brother invited me to join him and his dog Stanlee at the dog park. I obliged and took Scooby along with me. It was fun watching them interact with other dogs as curious and unleashed as they were. It was an experience Scooby was familiar with, but for Stanlee it was the introduction to a new world. A group of dogs approached him and he ran towards Tony and me with his tail between his legs. We thought him to be more social than he actually was. At least today he wasn’t. But that’s also probably because a gang of labradors jumped him and brought the warrior out in him. He showed his fangs and they surrounded him still. Their owners came and saved Stanlee from impending doom. We laughed and petted him for encouragement. He’ll be alright.

After an hour of watching and playing with the dogs we headed back home. The internet was down so we watched some Tube and killed time. I got bored quickly and went to my room to watch the remaining dvd of Grey’s Anatomy: Season 1. A few minutes later my brother walked in with a bowl of banana split for me. It was a kind gesture. I ate that thang up and continued watching an episode about secrets, syphilis and an unauthorized autopsy. Now that’s good drama.

On a final note, my mom leaves tonight for Colombia for a week and a half. It seems things are changing quickly this week. I hope something good is in store. Good night.