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| The Custos of Trelawny, the Hon. Hugh Gentles, with two of his schoolmates. |
It was Sunday, August 30, the day of my mother's funeral, and we left home at 8:00 am. Getting on the highway was like stepping onto an airplane. The smooth ride, minus potholes, was an unbelievable experience. It was already hot in Kington when we started to climb the hills heading up to Williamsfield, then onto Christiana; the cool breeze in this part of the journey was invigorating.
Leaving from Coleyville to Lorrimers and then on to Litchfield, there are signs of Melissa with the various breakaways and missing roofs. One error of judgment and you could end up off the road. At night, you cannot see those breakaways. We should get some red blinking solar lights to highlight those areas. We could also have signs that say, "Road Breakaway 50 Yards Ahead." Who cares?
I arrived a few minutes before the scheduled start of the service, which did not start on time because the pastor had not arrived. Unbelievable! I made sure to tell one of the pastors that arriving at the service late reflects poorly on the church. Some were shocked at my action.
The real challenge is that we had to sit and take the rough ride of a funeral service, which lasted approximately five hours. My brother was losing patience—the rain was looking as if it would cancel the burial. My brother declared that he would take action to stop the funeral if it continued forever. I spoke to the elder who was chairing the programme, and she indicated to the participants that some items had to be cut short. By this time, a packed church with all seats taken on the side of the church and all seats taken under the tent was now half empty.
We have developed some practices in recent times for putting our loved ones to rest, which I believe is a waste of time, effort, and money. Let me list them:
- Having long funeral services. A funeral service should not go over one and a half hours.
- We purchase expensive coffins only to throw them in the ground.
- Our loved ones cannot appreciate the flowers that we give them when they are underground.
- The funeral procession now becomes a film set with cameras capturing various angles of the procession.
- Disposable memorabilia is disposable, and therefore giving it to guests is wasting money.
- At some funerals, you hear people performing popular songs starting in the key of A and ending up in the key of Z. If you cannot sing, don't attempt to kill the already dead person in the coffin.
- If you know you cannot handle the situation, why go up on the pulpit to read the eulogy or give a tribute when you know you will bawl? People have to be on your left and right trying to hold you up. Have someone who is not emotionally charged do it for you.
- There is the repast. I understand that in some communities, even people who do not intend to attend a funeral wash then hang up their pots to collect free food. One gentleman gave meal tickets to those who attended the church service. Those who came for free food ended up going down the hill singing some colourful Jamaican words on empty stomachs.
- In the past, the nine-night was where you went to sing Sankey hymns, read the Bible, and sip some coffee and white rum. Now the nine-night is a big dance with a band, where people enjoy themselves without even remembering who has died or who the relatives are.
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| Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. |
Prostate Cancer
Remember to have your prostate checked out by the doctor, or you might see your maker earlier than he had planned.
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