Robert A Whit
01-19-2013, 07:35 PM
This is so touching and so worthwhile that I’m forwarding it. (I do not play any musical instrument just to clear this up)
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.<o:p></o:p>
Enjoy every moment of life.<o:p></o:p>
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Gualala back country.<o:p></o:p>
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.<o:p></o:p>
There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place.<o:p></o:p>
I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around.<o:p></o:p>
I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.<o:p></o:p>
And as I played Amazing Grace, the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.<o:p></o:p>
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen nothing like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”<o:p></o:p>
Apparently I’m still lost.... it’s a guy thing.<o:p></o:p>
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.<o:p></o:p>
Enjoy every moment of life.<o:p></o:p>
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Gualala back country.<o:p></o:p>
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.<o:p></o:p>
There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place.<o:p></o:p>
I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around.<o:p></o:p>
I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.<o:p></o:p>
And as I played Amazing Grace, the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.<o:p></o:p>
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen nothing like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”<o:p></o:p>
Apparently I’m still lost.... it’s a guy thing.<o:p></o:p>