Shot one. 

Collective intake of breath, shuddering. 

Shot two. 

Sobs break out. 

Shot three. 

The men weep.

The widow exhales and raises her chin, defiant and courageous. She is presented the flag from the honor guard as the hollow notes weave through the crowd behind her. She is elegant in her good jewelry and navy blue dress, poised on her sharp heels. 

I can see our breath on the air. The rain continues to fall, indifferent to our tears. 

The service is over. I can still detect the acrid odor of gunsmoke, silent and invisible now.

He brought many of us together today, back in his hometown after so many years spent scattered the four directions the winds blow. Family from all over the world, friends he knew, some he never met through simpletractors.com. I knew one, a former supervisor at the Co-op. He said he’d never met Kent, but wanted to pay his respects. He’d never imagined seeing me there. You never know where I might pop up. 

Friends from his graduating class and mine, there with our aging parents. People I haven’t seen in many years, old neighbors and people with babies that I remember as babies themselves. 

There were pictures and his plaques commemorating a job well done for 27 years. A patriot, proud to serve. There were plenty of mourners and lots of handshakes and hugs. There were many tears in remembrance of a battle fought, but ultimately lost. 

There weren’t a lot of flowers, per his request. We are to donate to our favorite church or charity. I feel useful. It’ll go to the sea turtles, via Ocean Conservancy. 

His eldest spoke, because he didn’t want soothing words exhalted by a stranger for his dad. He wanted to tell it himself. And that’s a harder job than I care to think about. When I bowed my head, tears plopped onto my hands. 

We had one common denominator = Kent is gone and we are sad. 

But there are lives to be led, jobs to return to, food to be eaten, and love to be shared. So these funerals are somber occasions but they’re also a reminder to keep going and keep laughing, and to love and cherish the people you have now. Because all too soon we’ll just have memories.

Please continue to hold the Thomas family in your prayers. And my Uncle Dale and Aunt Brenda too. 

I will remind my regular readers this website is thanks to him and his unrelenting dedication to get me Out There.