Bitter Sweet

I excused myself and made an early exit from a 2:00 p.m. workshop that was all about "groups" and making them work in the classroom. I walked across campus toward the lot where my car was parked; then drove through our community to the little church on Grand Boulevard. Almost every signal light was green; I sighed relief.

As I arrived at my destination, the curbside lawn was lined with American flags billowing in the strong afternoon wind. I found a spot to park a block away--in every direction cars lined the curb. I walked to the entrance of the sanctuary and found a long line of people waiting to get inside. Five minutes later I crossed the threshold, signed the guest book, and stepped into a room packed with people. For a moment I just paused, kind of just stunned at the thought of where to find a seat. I scanned the room to find Mr. Fun. I was hoping to sit near the back. I found a place 4-rows from the front.

The pastor stepped to the microphone to welcome everyone, the special music started, and the celebration of Marie Keeter's life began. Mr. Fun has known Marie for years because her relatives lived next door to the home where Mr. Fun grew-up. Years later, we both met Marie's three kids because we volunteered in the youth programs at church. Jack, her youngest son, is the one we became the closest with as he spent hours with us during his junior high school days. Marie was a single mom. She has often told people the Mr. Fun was like a "dad" to Jack. In his adult life, Jack has become a successful financial planner. He's been managing our funds for years and helping us plan for retirement. As our taxman looked at our paperwork the past two tax seasons, he has compliment Jack's ability to keep clients from losing during this recession.

This past Sunday morning Jack phoned us to say his mom had died just after midnight. His loss, sadness, and pain could be heard through the phone.

Today was a great privilege to watch and listen as Marie's three adult kids and several of her grandkids shared wild and crazy stories about Marie. She worked at a large place and her office had 20 engineers. Some of them shared too. I marveled at the amount of joy, delight, and just pure fun that was expressed as stories were told about Marie--often through choked back tears and several moments when the one speaking just had to pause to gain composure. One man said later he'd never been to such a warm, friendly, and joyous memorial service. I'm sure that pleased Jack and his two siblings.

When the memorial service concluded, a reception and meal happened at the Norconian Club at the Naval Base in Norco where Marie had worked since 1981. It's a beautiful old building with lots of history. As the early evening grew late, we said our goodbyes and stepped out into the fading sunlight and saw the long shadows on a little side pond of Lake Norconian. Mr. Fun took the camera from me and captured this sight.

It's been a day of deep feelings, long thoughts, sincere tears, and hearty laughs. The 29th is always a good day and it was today.

Next month is the best of the "29"s.
Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka