The Death of Hats.
Ya know, fifty/sixty years ago wearing hats was a thing. People wore hats. You went out someplace, you wore a hat. It's just the way it was. Nowadays it seems like it's just me and older black church ladies. And I don't wear a hat all the time, but dressing up I do, if I can. It's really difficult to find a hat now though. Especially one that looks good on my head. I don't have a head shaped to be able to wear all the types of hats.
I hunted all over the mall last week for a hat to wear to a funeral. I wanted to show respect and cover up my purple hair (not very funereal). We were disappointed in the lack of certain people's wardrobe. Don't people know you are supposed to wear black to a funeral? And no, I don't care that it's June, it's a funeral you wear black! Someone showed up in pants that looked like they stole them off of a circus clown! Show some fucking respect y'all!!
My husband said at his funeral he wants someone at the door screening people. There will be a bucket of clown noses by the door and if you show up dressed like a clown, one will be put on you and you will be sat in the clown section.
Yeah. It was my Grandmother's funeral. She was 83 and we were all completely shocked. We all thought for sure that she would be the last of my four grandparents to go, especially since both of her parents lived to be in their mid nineties. But she went fast, the way she wanted, without existing in a hospital on feeding tubes and such for a long time. She had the attack (the doctors still aren't sure what it was) on the 31st of May, and died in the hospital on June 2. She would have died Friday if my Uncle Kim hadn't been there to give her CPR until the paramedics got there with the crash kit. She never woke up or responded, which is probably a good thing, since she had cracked/broken ribs from the CPR and I saw what they did to trache her.
We reckon about 400 people showed up to the viewing that signed the book. Funeral parlor said she got the most flowers of anyone in several years. Would have gotten more, but the florist sold out. She was well loved and widely respected in the community. Three different preachers did the Eulogy. Everyone has been dropping off so much food at my Papaw's house, we'll all gain 20 lbs if we eat it all, and I'm going to end up spending several hours with my Stepmother writing thank you cards this weekend for all the flowers, food, and condolence cards. Because that's what we do. That's what my Grandmother would do.
RIP Audrey Carlene Buckley Buntyn. You will be sorely missed.