I was reminded today at Gramp's funeral how much I appreciate the traditions of small southern towns. I was awestruck by the respect of strangers who still pull off the road and stop while a funeral procession passes. It was so great to see the presence of the Marines who honored my grandfather's military service by playing taps, folding the flag, executing that famous slow motion salute, and then presenting the flag and Bible to the family.
After the funeral, Ocmulgee Baptist Church paid their respects to their oldest member by preparing a delicious meal for this large family which included Southern comfort foods such as sweet tea, fried chicken, butter beans, deviled eggs and lots of pie: custard, apple, pecan, and sweet potato pie.
Then the family headed to Aunt Ann's farm for a relaxing day just being with family: aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Since broadband cable & wi-fi are non-existant out here in the country, we headed outside and enjoyed this warm fall day (72 degrees). While some of us gathered pecans under the huge trees behind the house, others went out back with guns and clay pigeons for skeet shooting. Then there was the jaunt to the creek to see who could skip their rock farther than the rest. Heading back to the house I saw the model A parked in front waiting for Uncle Bob to take us on rides in it tomorrow. As the sun set behind the golden brown trees of fall, I saw a truck full of cousins with legs dangling from the tailgate riding around looking at the cows with happy smiles and laughter filling the air.
Oh, yes, and I discovered something new today. My Aunt Ann's first name is Billie! That doesn't sound so funny until you realize that before she married Bob and became an Edwards, she was know as Billie Twilley. Considering that her mom's name was Willie Grey and her father's name was Haddox LeRoy, I shouldn't have been surprised. Southerners certainly have a great sense of humor!
It was a good day here in the South.
Links to funeral videos:
1. Taps
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