Sunday, November 06, 2005

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Home From Mass The Other Day

I went to mass all by myself last Monday night. Being All Saint's Day, a Holy day of obligation, Vince attended mass with Sophia at her school that morning. So as I'm leaving the pew, an older man we know calls me over. He is standing next to a woman, probably in her forties, and he is very excited to introduce us. She looked a little embarrassed, but I greeting her with a smile on my face and shook her hand, did the whole "nice to meet you" thing. Turns out she is his daughter, visiting from out of town. He wanted us to meet because, as he informs me, "When I die I want you to cater my funeral". O-kay. I'm actually flattered by this strange opportunity. So he goes on, "She's only here for a few days and she's going to have to arrange it all, so I wanted to be sure you two met, so that when I go, she'll know who to contact". So I ask him if he's planning on passing away in the next few days. She says with a smile on her face that he just wants to be sure he's got everything planned out. Then he asks me with a sense of urgency, "You don't have a business card on you do you?". No. "Then how will she know how to get in touch with you?" I appologize for not thinking to bring any business cards to mass with me, but assure him that all she needs to do when the time comes is contact the church office. They have my contact information and have me listed as a caterer on their reference sheet. He seemed relieved by this, and both his daughter and I found the whole thing rather amusing. It's interesting what issues become important as we age. Funny old man.

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