Funeral of a Homeless Man

[Falcomille]

As a young piper, I was asked by a funeral director to play
at a grave-side service for a
homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to
be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this
man would be the first to be laid to rest there. As I was
not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost;
and being a typical man did not stop for directions. I
finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew,
who were eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped
to the side of the open grave, where I saw the vault lid
already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold
them up for long, but this was the proper thing to do. The
workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played
out my heart and soul.

As I played the workers began to weep. I played, and I
played, like I'd never played before: From My Home &
The Lord is my Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest . I closed
the lengthy session with amazing Grace and walked to my car.

As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I
overheard one of the workers saying to another, 'Lard
Jeezuz b'y, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've
been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.'