3 Movies, 1 Barbecue and A Funeral A packed memorial day holiday. We watched three movies - 2 via rented DVDs and 1 at the Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Monday, we went to a barbecue. Most barbecues are a casual affair of hot-dogs and burger patties. John and Fum, however, are serious hosts. When we arrived, this was the spread: Big chunks of barbecued beef (grilled on a genuine HAWAIIAN Kiln, mind you) PLUS Shishkebobs of grilled vegetables PLUS Spinach salad (with honey bacon dressing that John made from scratch) PLUS Baked potatoes PLUS Assortment of Asian pickles Tuesday, we attended a funeral. One of our friends' mom died from a stroke. We went to mass. The mass and funeral was over in about an hour. We heard eulogies and prayers. There were songs and communion, stuff that Cass and I have little clue about because we are not affiliated with the religion. Eighty years of life, gone. One moment you're here, next moment you're dead and buried, and you exist only in the memories of people whose lives you've touched. "Life ends as unremarkably as it begins." I said to Cass when we arrived home. In one of the eulogies, the deceased was described in poetic and majestic terms. The descriptions gave me an idea of how important the deceased was to her family. She was a sister, wife, mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She meant alot to many people. As I listened to these grand descriptions of the deceased, I wondered if anyone would ever say similar things about me, and my conclusion was - that I was egotistical to be thinking about myself right now! Anyway... Those were very high standards to live up to. I asked Cass what sort of service we would have, if we were dead, because we are not affiliated with any religion. I wouldn't be comfortable having a church service or mass. Mark said that we could have whatever sort of service we wanted, in that case. Cass said that he'd want a luau in our garage. I guess a luau wouldn't be a bad idea, as long as we keep the cars away from the bonfire. Copyright (c) 2001-2009 by Jane Chin, All Rights Reserved. Back to Rate of Attrition