![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Cincinnati Trip, day 2 of 3
Oct. 7th, 2022 11:59 pmFRIDAY
I didn't sleep well because of the coffee but I suppose it was good enough. I'd set an alarm for 7:30 but was up and about by quarter after seven because I needed to use the bathroom. Around eight I heard Tristan and Milo getting ready for breakfast and got to chatting with them briefly. As Tristan put on coffee I excused myself to take a shower, then Matt fixed us breakfast of scrambled eggs and English muffins. When I finished eating I hurried to get into dressy clothes for the ceremonies, and we left the house about ten after nine.
When we arrived at the church, Del was laid out in the "crying room" where parents with young children attend services. One of Del's granddaughters, Emily, spoke at length just before the Mass with a prepared reminiscence of Del's life, in which Mom played a prominent role. (After Mass, Colleen pointed out in conversation that they met in third grade at St. Mark's parish school, not as I'd thought at Western and Southern: in fact, Del never worked there because her cousin did.) During the Mass I found myself singing the hymns down the octave like Dad used to do.
Matt left after Mass and I stood outside the church with Colleen, Rab, and Brynn (who was home from school with a runny nose). There I was introduced to the parish priest and his brother who was significantly taller than he; both times I made the remark "I've learned never to introduce myself as Colleen's little brother." The motorcycle escort rider was a big bear with a white goatee. The funeral procession followed I-71 to I-275 rather than remaining on Montgomery Road the whole way, which made things interesting.
The committal service was held at the grave site which was unusual but appropriate for the nice weather. Del was buried beside her husband, who is buried beside Mom, and of course Mom beside Dad. So I found it a little surreal standing right by Mom's gravestone during the ceremony. Joe Jr.'s wife Joy was standing near me during the service and cleaned Mom's gravestone. There was another service for a veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, with several bikers in colors and a uniformed honor guard, over the next hill, so we were directed out the side exit from the cemetery.
We headed to Del's house for the wake and lunch. As I was filling my plate I heard a woman's voice call "Mike!" I instinctively turned and said hello, only to find she was addressing her husband. I ended up sitting with them, as well as her brother and his wife: Mike and Christine and Charlie and Terry. Charlie and Christine are cousins to the family who live in Northern Ohio (Christine and Mike in Cleveland and Charlie and Terry in Sandusky). I had a chat with Bob and asked him where he was moving, and he said he was moving into a cabin on his brother Joe's property and going partially off the grid. I also asked if he was on Facebook and he said no, so I told him, "you're going to miss me posting my adventures with bears half my age". I got to chatting with Lynn's husband Dennis and later with their three sons, Brian, Nick, and Tim. Brian is a big ginger bear who resembles Ben from Home Town, while his two brothers are leaner, dark-haired, and practically twins. Joe's son (also Joe) is much taller than his father and has a thick curly ginger beard.
Around three we got back in the car and returned to Colleen and Rab's. About 7:30 we had LaRosa's thin crust meat lover's pizza with banana peppers for dinner. By nine we were on the road back to Matt's place. Milo was already asleep so the house was quiet. I changed clothes and prepared for bed, where I chatted with Gary and Zach and participated in an XL Bears group chat until my eyes got tired. I spoke with Gary briefly before going to sleep about quarter to midnight.
I didn't sleep well because of the coffee but I suppose it was good enough. I'd set an alarm for 7:30 but was up and about by quarter after seven because I needed to use the bathroom. Around eight I heard Tristan and Milo getting ready for breakfast and got to chatting with them briefly. As Tristan put on coffee I excused myself to take a shower, then Matt fixed us breakfast of scrambled eggs and English muffins. When I finished eating I hurried to get into dressy clothes for the ceremonies, and we left the house about ten after nine.
When we arrived at the church, Del was laid out in the "crying room" where parents with young children attend services. One of Del's granddaughters, Emily, spoke at length just before the Mass with a prepared reminiscence of Del's life, in which Mom played a prominent role. (After Mass, Colleen pointed out in conversation that they met in third grade at St. Mark's parish school, not as I'd thought at Western and Southern: in fact, Del never worked there because her cousin did.) During the Mass I found myself singing the hymns down the octave like Dad used to do.
Matt left after Mass and I stood outside the church with Colleen, Rab, and Brynn (who was home from school with a runny nose). There I was introduced to the parish priest and his brother who was significantly taller than he; both times I made the remark "I've learned never to introduce myself as Colleen's little brother." The motorcycle escort rider was a big bear with a white goatee. The funeral procession followed I-71 to I-275 rather than remaining on Montgomery Road the whole way, which made things interesting.
The committal service was held at the grave site which was unusual but appropriate for the nice weather. Del was buried beside her husband, who is buried beside Mom, and of course Mom beside Dad. So I found it a little surreal standing right by Mom's gravestone during the ceremony. Joe Jr.'s wife Joy was standing near me during the service and cleaned Mom's gravestone. There was another service for a veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, with several bikers in colors and a uniformed honor guard, over the next hill, so we were directed out the side exit from the cemetery.
We headed to Del's house for the wake and lunch. As I was filling my plate I heard a woman's voice call "Mike!" I instinctively turned and said hello, only to find she was addressing her husband. I ended up sitting with them, as well as her brother and his wife: Mike and Christine and Charlie and Terry. Charlie and Christine are cousins to the family who live in Northern Ohio (Christine and Mike in Cleveland and Charlie and Terry in Sandusky). I had a chat with Bob and asked him where he was moving, and he said he was moving into a cabin on his brother Joe's property and going partially off the grid. I also asked if he was on Facebook and he said no, so I told him, "you're going to miss me posting my adventures with bears half my age". I got to chatting with Lynn's husband Dennis and later with their three sons, Brian, Nick, and Tim. Brian is a big ginger bear who resembles Ben from Home Town, while his two brothers are leaner, dark-haired, and practically twins. Joe's son (also Joe) is much taller than his father and has a thick curly ginger beard.
Around three we got back in the car and returned to Colleen and Rab's. About 7:30 we had LaRosa's thin crust meat lover's pizza with banana peppers for dinner. By nine we were on the road back to Matt's place. Milo was already asleep so the house was quiet. I changed clothes and prepared for bed, where I chatted with Gary and Zach and participated in an XL Bears group chat until my eyes got tired. I spoke with Gary briefly before going to sleep about quarter to midnight.