A Hot Time

    

 Once again it was my somber duty to officiate at a funeral on Monday.  It was held in church and included organ preludes and congregational singing, in addition to personal reflections and a scriptural meditation.  It was a solemn celebration of a life well lived.  Perhaps the most unfortunate part of the entire funeral was that the air conditioning was not functioning properly and the sanctuary as well as the narthex were steamy and uncomfortable, not unlike the conditions I experienced in New Orleans.
     But that's where the similarity ended.  According to Lisa Rogak, author of Death Warmed Over, funerals in The Big Easy are legendary public events punctuated by jazz music and dancing strides as participants and onlookers alike contemplate their own mortality while enjoying the music and the spectacle.  She goes on to describe the procession from the church to the cemetery as a parade decorated with colorful costumes and clothing complimented with food, booze and jazz bands.
     During my stay in NOLA I did not witness any funerals, but I did see several wedding processions.  Interestingly, they are both similar in form and function, except that the former is led by a horse drawn hearse.  The latter by a happy couple.