Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water
twice, because the flow that has passed will never
pass again. Enjoy every moment of life.
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
Nova Scotia back country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost
and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for
directions.
I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy
had evidently gone and the hearse was no where in
sight. There were only the diggers and 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 and friends. I played like I've never
played before for this homeless man.
And 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 was hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the
workers say, "I never seen anything like that before,
and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty
years."
Apparently, I'm still lost .... it's a man thing.
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