Funeral etiquette?

[patooyee]

I guess I'm going to be the asshole here again ...

My town is restricted geographically. We have water to the north and to the south. There is only one main road that goes though east to west, Hwy 98. Traffic on this road is horrendous 24/7 even on good days. When there are minor disturbances they have a wave effect that affects traffic for miles and miles, hours and hours. Minor fender benders regularly stop traffic for hours. Vehicles regularly run out of fuel waiting for traffic to clear out. One time I got stuck in a traffic jam in Destin only to find out that the original holdup was on the 3-mile bridge in Pensacola 50 miles away. A few years ago Obama came to town and they shut that road down completely for 2 days straight. He didn't even use the road, they had it shut down as a strategic escape route that he never used. For two days businesses closed down because employees literally just couldn't get to work. Everyone had to just stay home, the economy put on complete pause for one man. (We were in the news after that for asking Obama to never return.) Just using this as an example of what happens here when that road is disturbed.

Now combine that with how huge some of these processions can get. Its a small community and everyone here knows everyone. Funerals can and regularly do involve up to a thousand people fairly regularly. When the processions leave they can be hundreds of cars long, each with only one or two people in it, and stretch on for miles and miles. One time I sat on the side of the road for an hour watching one go by. Had no choice, the highway was essentially shut down. I do not feel that that is right. Even a small procession in our area can result in half hour delays. I do not feel that when I die it is the right thing to do to hold up the lives of thousands of people that I don't know. I'm just not that important and no one is.

I give processions compassion by pulling over and waiting most of the time. (About 15 minutes in is when I start looking for escape routes, compassion be damned.) I wish they would do the same by limiting cars and taking the back roads when possible. I'm sorry someone died but they are going to stay dead. There is not a important need to completely disturb the lives of the living.

 

[bdillon2372]

This particular procession was prob 15 cars max, it went from Soddy Daisy to Bakewell, when the hurse hit the 4 lane he wasn't going slow, it wasn't like the road was shut down or anything it just surprised a me a little that folks were trying to pass the hurse and cut in, one of these was a police car not involved with funeral at all, having lived in this area for the past 20 some odd years it just surprised me that's all, generally people around here DO pull over...it just solidified my thoughts thought people are getting to be a little more rude these days that's all


B Dillon

 

[patooyee]

This particular procession was prob 15 cars max, it went from Soddy Daisy to Bakewell, when the hurse hit the 4 lane he wasn't going slow, it wasn't like the road was shut down or anything it just surprised a me a little that folks were trying to pass the hurse and cut in, one of these was a police car not involved with funeral at all, having lived in this area for the past 20 some odd years it just surprised me that's all, generally people around here DO pull over...it just solidified my thoughts thought people are getting to be a little more rude these days that's all


B Dillon

Totally agree with you that in general people are way more self-centered, rude, and a whole bunch of other negative adjectives that I could go on and on about. Sad.

 

[TheViking]

Re:

Those coons on the ridges out in Sale Creek can screw up a procession.

 

[5BrothersFabrication]

I guess I'm going to be the asshole here again ...

Yours is a wierd case. Normally one way in, one way out, one highway towns have a couple thousand people, max. I can see setting up restrictions on cars in a procession.

And good shot to your town for telling the spook in chief he's not welcome in your town anymore. Sounds like my kind of place!

 

[LandSpeeder]

Just wanted to share this pic I just took... Hoover, the BUSIEST road in Hoover, a mile from the BUSIEST mall in the state. And this is noon on the Saturday after Christmas...



ERRYBODY stopped! Proud of where I live.

 

[B Led]

My wifes grandmother passed away in june, during the visitation my brother-in-law was taking pictures of the casket, people viewing the casket and people standing around the funeral home visiting. Then during the burial service he was taking pictures of the paul-bearers carring the casket and, if that wasn't bad enough he tries to pick a fist fight with his older brother. I thought the picture taking was morbid as hell and the whole fight thing, what a total piece of ****ing ****

 

[LandSpeeder]

Today's culture, yes. But folks once buried their own, in their yard. And when cameras became an option, you would photo the entire family with the dead person sat up like they were alive! Google it. THAT is morbid to me.

 

[TheViking]

Re: Re: Funeral etiquette?

Today's culture, yes. But folks once buried their own, in their yard. And when cameras became an option, you would photo the entire family with the dead person sat up like they were alive! Google it. THAT is morbid to me.

Yeah I came across that a while back and was like oh man.

We did have a private moment before they buried my grandfather and I took a few pics of him. It was my wife and my daughter and myself, although I did get cat calls from a woman in the next funeral across the hall and was like that's odd....

But given the chance I would have hit it....