Funerals are normally sad occasions, but as with everything
else in life, there is a good side too.
Recently my
brother, David, passed away. By man’s
law, David would have been considered my half brother. David had other siblings as well; 2 brothers
and 2 sisters (not including my brother and sister, who had met David, but never
developed a relationship with him). The
younger of David’s siblings I had met, but I was not aquatinted with the older
two.
When I heard
of my brother’s passing I found myself looking forward to the funeral; I wanted
to meet his family so bad and be with the people he loved. They were
stories I had heard about, like the guy who David looked up to as a father,
because his dad (my dad) wasn’t present in David’s life, and the sister who
lived on an island in Florida; not to mention the older brother who was a
steady anchor in David’s life. I knew
their names and I had seen their faces in photos, but I had never sat with them
or spoke to them.
On the day
of David’s funeral the forecast called for rain. As I left the house that day my mom forced an
umbrella in my hand despite my declaration of a dry occasion. And what a beautiful day it turned out to
be. The ride between Marion, Ohio and
Bucyrus was so awesome! There were flowering
peas of golden yellow stretching across the fields, with low lying white fluffy
clouds hovering above like a blanket of comfort. The corn looked like it could touch the sky
and the first day of fall was present in its leaves. There were browns, shaded greens and yellows
as the fields flew by. Such a lovely
ride as puppy dog faces formed in the sky.
Then came
that awkward moment when you arrive at a funeral and you realize you only really
know two faces out of all the people who are there. But it didn’t take long to find comfort in
each other’s presence. We weren’t strangers for long. And later in the day, when it came time for
family pic’s, they invited me in the mix.
My brother’s funeral was everything I hoped it would be - a celebration
of everlasting love. That is my brother’s legacy.
In Memory of
David Joseph Plumley
July 19, 1974 - September 18, 2019
"Live On"
