I just heard this morning about another old friend dying. His name was Ralph Houston and he was 91 years old. I haven't seen him in a few years but the last time I saw him he made me laugh. He had a great sense of humor.
I want to share a funny story about Ralph. But I need to preface it by telling you that he was a Methodist minister. Now ministers and funeral home directors have a secret. Many times, after a funeral, the family, overwhelmed by the massive bouquets of flowers, will say either to the minister, but mostly to the funeral director. "We don't want these flowers. You do something with them." As you can imagine, this can get to be a bit of a burden for these two professional groups.
This is another reason, when a loved one dies, you should direct folks to give money to something meaningful to you or the deceased. FYI - there is an endowed scholarship at Bethune-Cookman University in memory of my husband, Ken - started with seed money given in lieu of flowers at his memorial service.
Now, back to Ralph. Many years ago he was a patient in the hospital and had a roommate who was very ill. The roommate, who was in and out of consciousness, was a funeral director.
On the day Ralph was discharged, his side of the room was covered with flowers. So Ralph went over to the seemingly comatose funeral director and whispered in his ear,
"I don't want these flowers. Would you mind doing something with them?"
He got a little smile from the funeral director.
Goodbye, Ralph. Lots of folks will miss, among other things, your wonderful sense of humor.
***
I want to share a funny story about Ralph. But I need to preface it by telling you that he was a Methodist minister. Now ministers and funeral home directors have a secret. Many times, after a funeral, the family, overwhelmed by the massive bouquets of flowers, will say either to the minister, but mostly to the funeral director. "We don't want these flowers. You do something with them." As you can imagine, this can get to be a bit of a burden for these two professional groups.
This is another reason, when a loved one dies, you should direct folks to give money to something meaningful to you or the deceased. FYI - there is an endowed scholarship at Bethune-Cookman University in memory of my husband, Ken - started with seed money given in lieu of flowers at his memorial service.
Now, back to Ralph. Many years ago he was a patient in the hospital and had a roommate who was very ill. The roommate, who was in and out of consciousness, was a funeral director.
On the day Ralph was discharged, his side of the room was covered with flowers. So Ralph went over to the seemingly comatose funeral director and whispered in his ear,
"I don't want these flowers. Would you mind doing something with them?"
He got a little smile from the funeral director.
Goodbye, Ralph. Lots of folks will miss, among other things, your wonderful sense of humor.
***
