Little Respect Given Anymore

Earlier today I attended a funeral for the first time in many years. Not since my Grandmother passed away a number of years back have I gone to an actual funeral. I've been to several visitations to pay my respects in the evening or afternoon but for one reason or another I was unable to attend the actual funerals.

I don't think anyone can say they enjoy funerals but I had my eyes opened to two distinct things as I attended the funeral of a relative today. One was positive and the other very negative.

The first is that funerals bring family together. That isn't a real eye-opener but it was more than just my immediate family. I met and was reacquainted with family members I didn't know I had or hadn't seen in years. I met second cousins who remember me but I was too young the last time we met to know them. Either that or my memory is really slipping. I also met second and third cousins. One cousin I've been golfing with for years and we never knew we were related.

While it was a sad occasion that brought us all together, it was nice to talk with them and hear the old stories from days gone by.

The other item that occurred today that has me quite upset is the lack of respect shown by strangers and motorists as we made our way from the funeral home to the grave site.

Perhaps it was the way I was raised but it has always been my understanding that as you approach an oncoming funeral procession, you should pull your vehicle over to the right and allow at least the first 7 to 10 vehicles pass. These usually include the hearse, pallbearers and the immediate family of course and it's just the right thing to do.

Today we had to travel a fair distance to the graveyard and our car was located right behind the Cadillac carrying the pallbearers, about the fifth vehicle. I was genuinely saddened by the number of vehicles that simply chose to drive right by without even slowing down at the very least. Heaven forbid you don't make it to the Beer Store or Walmart as quickly as possible.

There were those that did the right thing and pulled over and I was happy to see that but those who showed the proper respect were outnumbered greatly by those who just kept on truckin'. Speaking of truckers, they were probably the best ones to pull over. These are men who are on a schedule for work and even they took the time to stop and in some cases block the traffic behind them from getting by. Oh and that was another thing. While some people did pull over, those behind them used the opportunity to pass them.

Now I can understand a few slipping by because they just didn't notice the procession coming because they were too busy talking on their cell phones, playing with the radio or lighting a smoke but the numbers were just too high to not rule out sheer rudeness and disrespect by the majority of them.

The other shocking statistic from this abomination was the ages of the offenders. While you might expect this from the more youthful drivers the fact remains that most of the offenders were easily old enough to know better. A good portion of these individuals were over 40.

It wasn't all bad. One man was cutting his lawn with a riding lawnmower and he stopped cutting his lawn and waited for us to go by. Another man driving a transport stopped his truck at the entrance to the cemetery and blocked the oncoming traffic to allow the procession to enter. I've been hard on the "Knight's of the Highway" on many occasions for their actions on the highway in the past but they gained a few marks back today.

It has become apparent that in these ever changing times the thing that many parents aren't teaching their children and what a lot of adults have forgotten is manners and respecting our fellow man has become less important in this fast paced world.

To those who took the time to pull over and be respectful, my family thanks you.