Tonight was the viewing for family and close friends of my stepfather, Dennis Ker. Attendance was surprising, even with people milling in and out over the course of two hours.
It was, I felt, both surreal and slightly macabre: there lay Dennis’ corpse in the coffin in the place of honor, surrounded by flowers with a line of chairs containing family to his left. A video synopsis of his life was playing on the LCD screen at the back of the room, repeating the same several songs over and over again throughout the 3-hour event.
And here we were, talking and laughing with only a hint of the sadness we felt leaking through our conversations. Most of the stories shared were the funny ones of better times. It felt odd to be smiling and giggling over obscure inside jokes with a corpse in the room… yet at the same time, it felt like what he would have wanted.
Tomorrow is the funeral, and with it, probably resumption of my usual upbeat and interrogatory blogs. But for now, I’m reminded of the man who was alternately exasperating and entertaining, and the love of my mother’s life.
The Viewing
I found it extraordinarily Macabre. I couldn’ even go into a room where all these people were pretending that the spoiled meat in the box was my stepfather.
I did hang out outside, though. I think mom didn’t realize I was there.
I did my remembrance thing in my own way, listening to beatles and the doors and drinking and I even sat down on sunday and watched a game. Just to try and see what he saw in it. Best I could do.
-Democracy: founded on the principal that 1000 people are automatically smarter than any one person. Excuse me? -Dictatorship: founded on the principal that one person is automatically smarter than any thousand people. Come again?