last five entries

host - email - older- newest - profile - notes

Where he went , and how he was taken

2004-06-24 - the end of time

I've been thinking so much lately that I'm almost choking on everything I eat. Ok next.

The wake was today. I really just wanted to show some support for Vicki and get the hell out of there. Thankfully, so did Georgie and Noel. Since the grounds on the way in looked pretty packed with folks, I was wondering what they do with the incomings once they ~pack the house~, and Noel knew the correct term for that sort of occupation. Something like excavation specialist. Georgie kept herself occupied on the way in:

"That must be his hearse!"

"Just think, every other room has a dead guy here."

"I don't want to go in there."

"Umm I don't want to see a dead body."

There were two fluffy looking guards posing exceptionally still outside the door with feathery hats and swords, the only men who weren't Philippino besides us. Later, we saw there were more of these wonderful creatures. On the poster board outside the room, there were pictures of the family (the women are radiant, the men all look alike) and there were two huge posters of Vicki's husband Chouie on an easel on the opposite side of the wall. He was one of them too, and he had medals around his neck in the photos. I asked G&N what branch of military he was in, because I never knew he was a military man. I also never knew Chouie personally, but Vicki never mentioned the military to boot. Georgie read on one of the boards he was one of The Knights Of Columbus. I asked Noel what that was. His face looked blank, and I guessed he had already been exhausted of our female line of questioning for the night.

We acquired some of the songbooks at the door and Vicki came out and seated us. I thought that took a lot of on the ball-ed-ness, not to mention organization and class. You could barely see Chouie, because two of the feather guards were twirling slowly in front of the (open) casket, and raising the swords over him. Vicki sat down with us and said they were doing a changing of the guards, which, up until that point, I had never understood the meaning of. And I still didn't get the Knights Of Columbus. I've heard of the Army, The Navy, the Moose Club, The Elks Lodge, the American Legion, the E Street Band and naturally even the Knights Of Columbus, I had just never thought to ask what it was.

As Vicki talked about how her mother had once told her how she should never walk people to the door at a wake, only welcome them in, I thought of how many years she had been with Chouie, and I watched his sons setting up his uniform on a small podium near his casket with the feather hat and the sword over it.

I fought for the right to remain silent, but my emotions had other plans. I didn't cry. I broke down entirely, and Vicki had to move over next to me. I think it was Georgie's "umm hey - please don't cry," comment that sent me over.

"I'm sorry Vicki, I can't help it."

"It's ok, it's ok, you're ok, what's wrong?"

"I'm just sad for you, Vick."

Streaming download.

"No, it's ok, hey you're ok. Listen, it's ok ohell."

And as Vicki rubbed my arm, I had an internal argument with my sensitive side, and reminded it that nope, this was not ok, he is not your husband, and Vicki is the one that needs support right now, ok? Yes I knew that, but it's a wake. Not a cake eating contest.

"Listen, I know where he is. Did I tell you ohell? I saw how he was taken. I was happy!"

"How did you (sniffle) see that?"

"I'll hap to tell you guys when I come back to work. Don't be sad, it's ok."

The only thing I could think of to stop crying was The Knights.

"Does - that mean he was a Knight of some kind?"

Georgie said she didn't know. I did take note (through my wet sleeve, as none of my seatmates offered theirs) that as the guards were changing, the new ones weren't really stone faced. They were attemptimg to be, but twitching a lot and generally one or two appeared lost in thought. Maybe I was projecting.

So when the two sons came by to say hi and to thank us for running the copies of the program, I asked one of them about his father's role in the Knights. He said he wasn't sure, but that someone there would. When he walked away I had more questions.

"Do they align themselves with Christopher Columbus somehow?"

Noel kind of looked blankly at us, maybe once and for all disgusted. Georgie asked if we wanted to get going soon. Yes.

Vicki pointed out Chouie's sister in the row in front of us.

"Her huspan's in it too."

When his sister turned around, she told us all about the Knights. They were good citizens, samaritans, they did service work, they were church people. Even Vicki wasn't sure what they did.

I asked the woman what kind of service work they did. It did stop the incessant crying, thank God what a baby.

"Oh, they do all kind. They always come to funeral, for anyone who die. Community service, selling tootsie drolls, all kind. And we - I am in the Southern Ca. Ladies chapter too. Maybe then give me your name - and address. And I'll send you brochures and you can join!"

Georgie asked if we were ready to go now.

"Ok, nice to meet you, well then here you go, here's my name etc."

"Yes also in this group yes we make a lots of sandwiches twice a week and donate them to charity."

"Ok."

"And here's my card, and my husband's card, he's a Knights too."

"Ok, yes."

Noel didn't want to come to the casket with Georgie and I, understandably so. We walked up, but an unidentified casket hog had already been there way too long. So we stood there and waited for her, unavoidably staring face to face to the feather top swordsmen, who were looking at us quizzically. When she walked away, I went to the casket.

"Noo. Don't go so close without me."

"Well come on then."

"I can't see him. He's too far away."

"Well come on up here then."

"Noo."

I turned around to our row to see Noel just looking plain defeated. We left for the car. Back on the road again, we wondered why someone was hitchhiking within the cemetery premises.

"What did Vicki say about him again?"

"She's happy. She knows where he went. She saw how he was taken."

previous - next