"i knows i ain't lost."
if one thing is to be said about funerals it's that the family you spend a short period of time with there is not to be underestimated, overlooked or disregarded. you may walk into the room a complete stranger...just staring at a bunch of old people who smell like ozium and look at you with jealous eyes like they envy your colored hair and smooth skin...but you'd better believe those strangers care a hell of alot more about you than the fools you joke with in class or the kids who smoke pot with you on the weekends. despite the blemishes on their skin or that unique smell, those people will come up and hug you like you just returned from world war I and they'll look you in the eye with a sincerity that is hard to find these days. believe it or not it matters to them what happens to you and where you go to college and who you are friends with and if you eat yer deviled eggs just like grandma made up back in harlan county. it's amazing to me the web of secrecy and lies and stories and adventures that rest underneath each family name. who woulda know grampa frankie hyden, henry ford and thomas edison were bros4life? i don't know how many times i heard tonight "pretty girl, i sure wish youda met your grandfather...he was a hell of a business man and he'd hanker ya into buyin a ratty ole pair a socks if he could make two dimes offa ya." those people, they'll talk your ear off if you let them but the stories they have to tell and the love they have to give are really just incredible. the fact is that the strangers you meet at funerals and the like know all about you and your family and could teach you a lesson or two if you would give them an ear. they would take you into their home in a heartbeat just because you share a last name and they are simply astounded by your youth and the fact that you have so many mistakes ahead of you that they just can't wait to sit back and watch you make them and say "so what did you learn out of that one?" it's something you have to know about and embrace and appreciate and hold close. it's something you don't ever let go of--your roots.