Sunday, January 30, 2011

Paying Your Respects...or Just Plain Disrespectful?

A few weeks ago, my mom and I attended the reviewal of a family friend/distant cousin. While waiting in line for over an hour to pay my respects (he was a very well-respected member of the community as well), I got around to noticing a lot of questionable behavior and it really made me think. Now, as Mark and I get ready to say goodbye to his grandma June sometime this week (service dates/times are still undetermined), here are a few of the things deemed "OK" and "NOT OK" by me:

OK
*texting while in line (questionable, I know, but in my opinion, if the line is really long-OK until you get close enough for the family to see you-then NOT OK)
*telling stories/singing songs about happier times
*laughing (alone or together-one of the few good things that are contagious)
*making conversation with others in the line (if they are open to it-it could be awhile and you might as well have a "line buddy")

NOT OK
*
leaving your phone on ring (really? No one wants to hear your ring tone of Cee-Lo's "F**k-or Forget-You)
*wearing jeans (unless they are dress jeans)
*wearing hooded sweatshirts (what are you-in a gang?)
*wearing hair back into a haphazard ponytail (as a mom of two, I know there are moments when you have to do this, but for a wake/funeral? You couldn't have taken 5 minutes to make yourself look more presentable, especially when breaking other NOT OK rules listed above?)
*making death jokes (like "Glad to see you're still among the land of the living," or the one I'm guilty of-"I'm dying for a cup of coffee.")
*
bringing crying babies and then not taking them out when they SCREAM their heads off

And my absolute "favorite" NOT OK item:

*LINE BUDGING!!! (Is your time really any more precious than the rest of us?)

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