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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “At the Zoo” Down in the Dirt v210 (8/23)  Order the paperback book: 
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Inappropriate Perhaps
Richard K. Williams
In March of last year, my wife and I flew down to South Carolina to attend her father’s burial service. He had passed away shortly before Christmas the pervious December. We were there visiting at the time having gathered for the family’s annual holiday celebration, and while his passing was not unexpected (he had been battling cancer and Parkinson’s for three years) it still cast a pall over the family gathering. The positive aspect was he was able to visit with most of the family and his friends shortly before his passing. As per his wishes he was cremated and wanted his remains interred at a local convent that he and my mother-in-law had been supporting for several years. On the day of the service my wife’s family gathered at the convent. The mourners included her sister, both her brothers, her one brother’s wife and daughter, and of course my mother-in law. To perform the ceremony a deacon and his wife from the church my mother-in-law attends arrived. They are also close friends of my mother-in-law. We walked up a short path to the area on the property that is set aside for cremated remains to be buried. It is a forty-foot raised circle of earth surrounded by a low brick wall. There is a tall granite block standing nearby with the names of the interred listed on it. It is a very serene location surrounded by trees some distance from any buildings on the grounds. It’s a lovely setting the quiet only broken by bird song and the rustling of small woodland creatures moving around in the undergrowth. We were met by a couple of the sisters from the convent who had already dug a small hole and surrounded it with several bouquets of flowers. We gathered around the low brick wall and the deacon commenced with a prayer and a short sermon. After which the sisters invited my wife her siblings and my mother-in-law to line up at the hole as each would pour a portion of their husband and fathers ashes into the hole until the urn containing the ashes was empty. It was a simple, solemn, and beautiful ceremony. After the family had stepped down from the burial site they were gathered on the opposite side of the circle from my niece and myself. I took this opportunity to move closer to my niece who was twenty years old, she is a beautiful, intelligent, and lovely person. I moved close enough so that our shoulders were nearly touching and whispered in her ear. “Payton, would you do me a favor, pick up one of those bouquets of flowers, turn your back to the family and toss it over your shoulder to them?” She looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face and asked. “Why!” “So we can see who’s next.” I replied. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth to stifle her burst of laughter. I just thought the occasion could use a little levity. This is why I am no longer invited to the ceremonies of peoples passing.
