Homeless Man's Funeral
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As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director
to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or
friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky
back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost. I
finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and
the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the digging crew left and
they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being
late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was
already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out
my heart and soul for this man with no family or friends. As I played
'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept
together.
When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my
head hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard
one of the workers say, "I ain't never seen nuthin' like that before and
I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
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As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director
to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or
friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Kentucky
back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost. I
finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and
the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the digging crew left and
they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being
late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was
already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out
my heart and soul for this man with no family or friends. As I played
'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept
together.
When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my
head hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard
one of the workers say, "I ain't never seen nuthin' like that before and
I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."