Death of a Friend

Been away from this blog for the better part of a week.  The remodelling project is getting to be wearying, but at least the end of one important part of it is in sight.  To paraphrase Mr Churchill, it may not be the beginning of the end, but it sure looks like the end of the beginning.  

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Woke up early this morning to go to our friend's memorial Mass on the other side of the Bay.  It was held at 10:00 a.m. in the Catholic Church in the retirement community where a number of his, and our, friends reside.  The church was nearly full.  The deceased's family members and close relatives made up a sizeable proportion of the crowd. Both he and his wife come from relatively large extended families, and it seemed that anyone who could make it to the Mass had made it a point to be there. There were infants and teenagers, young married people and older married people, and more retired personages than one can count

One group in the church that stood out was the community bowling club, to which the deceased had belonged for years.  These folks were all in white outfits (flannels, I think they call them), which was the color of the hair of most of them.  They sat in a close group at one side of the altar, visible to all those attending, and I have to say that their being there as a uniformed contingent gave the service a poignant edge.

The man's son delivered a moving eulogy at the Mass, and later, in a community hall that had been set up for the reception, he also showed family pictures projected onto a large screen which illustrated his parents' lives from their first meeting.  The presentation was accompanied by a compendium of songs that the deceased loved.  The couple had been married for 47 years.  The passing of a friend is ever a reason for sorrow, but a little comfort can be gained from the knowledge that he suffers no more.  

At the reception, family and friends had prepared the usual round of crudités, chips and dips, and all sorts of beverages.  What was worth noting was that these same relatives and friends had also prepared a unique appetizer in the shape of a crunchy half-moon filled with meat and potatoes and then deep-fried.  This delicious item is called a chilicote, and we learned from one of the ladies involved in the preparation, that a total of one thousand of them were made for the occasion.  Certainly they turned out to be a big hit, particularly for those who had never sampled this delicacy before.  And for those who had, the chilicote proved to be as irresistible as ever.