I was talking to my friend Kathleen tonight, and she said “So I went to this funeral last weekend”, and the first thing I say is “Oh, for what?”
I instantly realized I should have said “for whom?” Kathleen understood, saying we are way too used to events that take place for all sorts of different reasons, or that we might attend for any of a number of reasons. I had momentarily forgotten that there is only one reason someone might go to a funeral. Part of me was, I guess, expecting her to respond, “Oh, it was just this thing for work, I didn’t really know anyone there, but I had to show my face, you know?”
I’m hoping my own funeral will be combined with an all-star roast and a beer-pong contest. That way, there’ll be plenty of reasons to show up, and no one will have to feel weird asking, “Oh, you went to Paul Jay’s funeral? For what?”
