A different sort of day

And I'm not referring to the rain, which is perpetual.  The third miserable, cold wet day in a row.  David has made an appointment to have our winter tires put on.

My friend Gail's Mother died last week.  She was 98 and ready for it.  Today was her funeral, out of town, of course.  It was held in a church that was described as "Evangelical Mennonite".  Now, the word "evangelical" scares the s--t out of me, especially when I consider the things going on down south. As well, Gail has told me that she comes from a very fundamental restrictive religious background.  On top of all that, Gail had warned us to expect a "Hellfire" sermon.  We found out during the service that this had been a special request of the deceased, to the Pastor, just prior to her death.

Well it was really not that different from some of the Protestant services we attended as children.  A very modern new building with a huge "gym" attached where lunch had been set out for the 300 expected "guests", in attendance.  We had told Gail that we would be sneaking out before lunch, as we knew no-one there except her and her nephew.

Well, with the driving rain, the "graveside" service was held in the foyer of the church.  I had visited the washroom while David went tot he car.  He got away fine, but I had to walk through the mourners, right beside the coffin and out through the door facing the whole congregation singing a prayer.  Guess it was a good thing no-one knew me.

Driving home, the rain was so heavy that David had to drive about 10k below the speed limit, and no-one else on the road objected.  It's eased off some now, but there are huge puddles on the streets.  We've had the furnace on all day and we plan to stay home until  tomorrow.