Today, While the Sun Shines

Yesterday I had the great privilege of attending the services of a very dear neighbor. The chapel was filled with ward family and kin alike, some of whom had travelled from his native New Zealand for the funeral.

As I sat in the audience yesterday, I was thoroughly impressed with how well the family presented their tributes. I was particularly touched by the talk given by my friend, the departed's daughter. He adopted this darling girl and her sister from a Northern Siberian orphanage when he and his wife were in their fifties and had just entered empty nester status. Although she struggled to see her notes through her bleary eyes, she provided a measure of humor by explaining that she had printed off her thoughts in a font that was too small, allowing the audience a much-needed laugh.

Perhaps the most moving part of the service came when the deceased's oldest daughter, a Metropolitan Opera singer, shared the following poem (the same poem shared at her own mother's/his first wife's funeral) right before performing Weepin' Mary:

There was not a dry eye in the building after the performance. Clear, emotive communication is one of the most moving powers the human race possesses. We would be foolish not to practice and perfect such an incredible force.