jakorte's blog

“A funeral is one of the few times when we give completely of our love without expecting love in return.” Unknown

“Every day should be like a funeral.” jakorte

I went to a funeral Saturday, not for the one who had passed but for the ones who are still here.
For the one, it may seem that I am (at best) only a fringe friend… a friend of a friend.
For other I am more than a friend, more like a sister.
As a spectator, I believe this may have been the first funeral I have ever attended that I have not been emotionally invested in: meaning, I did not know the deceased.

So, why did I go? Because sometimes you meet someone who you just get. Someone you can see yourself in, and someone you want to be. I doubt very much I was born with an extra bit more sensitivity to other’s pain than normal, but through the years I’ve both accidentally and forcibly had to hone that skill. I’ve used it quite bit, had to draw on its reserve. There have been times when the pain has been my only driving force.

I wish I had met the woman who was laid to rest. She read real books, questioned everything, held herself strong in her faith, and loved writing letters. She wrote eloquently, and with humour. She was humble, but had the fire to not be ignored. She was 89, and yet we had so much old-fashioned-ness in common, I caught an uncomfortable glimpse of how I must seem to the young people in my life.

I thinking I’m seeing myself a lot more like I really am these days. Four years older than the year I thought time would stop, and looking it lately, too. At least that’s what my mirrored eyes are telling me. Anyway, about being a fringe friend - in my world there isn’t really isn’t such a thing. It’s only the way I describe those that I rarely see, don’t see often enough, or may not have spent any more time with than a few volunteer hours once.

If you’re reading this note, you’re permanently on my list of people I would do most anything possible for. Even if I don’t know you well, or if you’ve come to this message via a friend, or a friend’s page – that means somehow you've found your way into my fringe. You’re a part of the edgy border, splashing decorative color and texture onto an otherwise minimalist framework.

If you’re reading this note, be assured: GOD loves you, and so do I.

In this issue: Brookside, Fringe, Decoration Day, James Garfield, Garfield the Cat.

Now Posted: New Orleans, October 2009, One Week to Go.