Years ago, you were privileged to attend the wake-keep of a friend’s husband. Everything was going smoothly until it was time for the memorial tribute. About six people were given the opportunity to give their tributes, and somehow, your antenna got a clearer connection. As in…no break in transmission; there was network, and yours truly could understand what was being said and the motive behind it.
You got that hypnic jerk when one of the friends of the chief mourner elaborated on how the deceased was a good father, a loyal and faithful husband to the wife. It was almost as if there was a spasm in your jaw as it refused to close.
In reality, the scenario painted was the opposite, and these friends had gossiped not too long ago about how the deceased never took care of anyone but himself and his numerous concubines. He was a serial womanizer, a wife beater, and a serious abuser. Even his children did not know him as a friend but only as someone who gave them a last name. He actually died in one of his concubine’s apartments.
Almost everyone in the community knew about the circumstances of his death, and yet the negative side was never mentioned.
You understand that most people like to idolize a dead person, even if he was a wicked being, elevating and personifying him as an angel of light.
Why lie? Say it the way it was and is, so that anyone who has similar behavior may think about their end.
Fast forward to today, you realize that most people who give tributes are either pathological liars or merely trying to deceive themselves or others. Though some people, even in death, deserve a meaningful memorial, this set of people is quite few.
In all the memorial tributes that you had either watched online or attended, there was no one where the deceased had a negative mark; always 100 percent pass mark. Even the angel of death would have smirked at how vain mortals could be.
You also wondered about the pretentious act of mourners at the burial ceremony. How? You recently watched some YouTube burial clips and quickly came to the conclusion that private ceremonies make more sense.
It’s accepted that people mourn differently, but no one should freshly apply makeup or fix large eyelashes, among other things, and still wail more than the bereaved. Just the day before, these people had gone to the nail and eyelash extension specialists for beautification.
Wait for this one: these wailers would almost want to fall into the grave, and when it is time for the meal, they eat more. It is really irritating and quite unfair to behave as a glutton or be overly decked out as if attending a wedding ceremony, especially if the person died young.
See you next week.