after the interment

After the interment we returned to the cars to plan the 30-minute drive back to the church to enjoy the fellowship meal. L to R, Dorcas, Sarah, Stephanie, Joel, Ryan, and Patrick.

good-bye Gary

Gary Shaar's funeral was held at the Hope United Methodist Church in Ephrata, Pa., today, at 10 a.m. We got the bouquet of flowers given by the whole family at Central Market. Arrived at the church in plenty of time for the 9 a.m. viewing. The interment followed at Sinking Spring. There my sister Anna Lois (l), brother Milton, and Evie, my sister the new widow, contemplate the cemetery tent.

brother-in-law dies

Nearly everyday my newspaper reading includes the obituary page. Here's the sad news of Gary's sudden passing--sudden as in instantaneous. My sister, Evelyn, had dropped him off at the house after a doctor's visit. While she drove on to the pharmacy he walked into the house and died.

He often said at family gatherings, I never saw a U-haul trailer behind a hearse, meaning one can't take anything from this world to the next. After a Thanksgiving feast he would say, I wonder how the rich live, meaning the rich could eat no better than we just did.

I'll miss him. I doubt if he would have voted for Obama, but his obit (first three paragraphs here) was published in the same paper that announced Obama's election.

Why Obama won

1. Sarah and I attended his rally at Stevens Tech in Lancaster Mar. 31. There she is, waiting. He would soon step up to the podium.

2. He popped a "vote" flier on our front porch rocker on Saturday.

When asked to put an Obama sign on our lawn, I begged off, saying our house is in Amishland National Park and the natives would not understand.