Another eulogy

My father-in-law passed away a couple days before Thanksgiving. It must be a seasonal thing, since my mom passed away 17 years ago a few days AFTER Thanksgiving.

Grampy was 89, the same age as my Uncle Glen who died last month. The coincidences may not impress you, but those of us in mourning seem to latch onto odd facts like this. I suppose it's an instinctive search for hidden meanings and purposes in death. (I'm not finding any, so don't read on if you're looking for those types of answers.)

This is NOT a time of sorrow for our family. Grampy had become a shell of the outgoing, vibrant man he once was and we've been mourning that loss for three years. Finally the body has let loose free his joyful spirit, and the entire family is celebrating.

The memorial service was lovely. Fred's dad was a twin and all of Fred's cousins flew in for the funeral. One cousin explained to the priest that since their fathers were genetically identical, they're technically half-siblings, not mere cousins. They had a private Italian meal at a local restaurant last night and took turns telling stories about their twin fathers and all the pranks, shenanigans, and heroic deeds they'd performed over the years.

The twins never locked the company safe. Instead there was a faded note on the cover that read, "We're out of cash so I'll stop at the bank on the way in tomorrow." That note was their anti-theft strategy for 20 years.

The stories about people confusing the twins were hilarious. Uncle Sam's future daughter-in-law once saw her boyfriend's supposed father in downtown Chicago, with a woman who was NOT her boyfriend's mother.

One of Uncle Sam's neighbors refused to talk to him for years. Evidently this neighbor had been elected to represent their block at a community meeting. Not only did Uncle Sam have the gall to also show up at said meeting, but he sat with the opposition and ignored him completely. Sam had no idea why the neighbor was so mad at him until years later. The neighbor saw the twins together, realized immediately what had happened, and apologized profusely.

The best story was when Sam was hospitalized and Fred came to visit. As he left, a nurse at the station tried to convince him to stay. He joked, "I can't... the food here is TERRIBLE." When he got off the elevator in the lobby, two big orderlies were waiting for him. He had to accompany them back to his brother's room before they believed his story and let him leave the hospital.

There were also stories about the famous "twin radar". The twins both got their first cash card at about the same time, and they both got to pick their own 4-digit PIN number. When comparing cards later, they realized they'd both picked the same number, 5683, because it spelled LOVE on the phone pad.

What a fun night of stories! It really was a great tribute to two men. May all the deaths in your life carry a similar amount of laughter and celebration to lessen the grief.