Greg was the only child of my aunt and uncle, and the apple of their eye. They were married 14 years before he was born. It would be hard to find a son better loved than Greg.
Greg was only 42 years, and his life ended in an ATV accident. He was not horsing around. He came up out of a creek bed and got stuck in some weeds. When he gunned it, it flipped backward on him, crushing him badly.
It has been many years since I attended a Kentucky funeral. As a young girl, my memories were not always pleasant ones. I remember wakes that lasted through the night while the body lay in state in the parlor or front bedroom. Someone would bring up politics or religion, and mom knew it was time to send me upstairs to bed. "Discussions" would begin in the dining room, move to the living room, the front porch, and eventually right out into the front yard.
Women would begin bringing in the food, trying to find room for it all on the groaning table. There would be periods of crying, coupled with periods of laughter and memories.
All of this was called "sittin' with the corpse".
The funeral service was held at the local church, accompanied by a very loud preacher. I mean no disrespect by stating this. But, to a little girl it can be quite overwhelming - even frightening. The church my family attended in Ohio was quite a bit different.
My sisters and I left early in the morning to drive to Olive Hill, Kentucky. We've driven Rt. 23 south many times in our life - mostly for funerals or Decoration Day. We were still in shock, but talking with each other greatly eased some of our grief. We all have good memories of Greg, and of our Aunt Betty and Uncle Dick.
The funeral chapel was in Globe, and the parking lot was already packed. When we pulled in, we were greeted by someone who is actually a shirttail relative of ours. I asked him when the next Cline Reunion was going to be, since we hadn't been to one in 12 years. He said there hadn't been one since then.
People were looking us over. First of all, most of the cars and trucks were Chevys and Fords. We drove up in my sister's Toyota Sienna. We all had skirts on. There weren't many others who wore skirts or dresses. I'm sure they were wondering who in the world we were.
We spotted my uncle first. I was amazed at how much he had aged in the short time since we've seen him. He embraced me and told me to take lots of pictures. I mentioned that some people might not like that practice, but he said he didn't care. He wanted pictures. Period.
Among all of the beautiful flowers was a bevy of quilts that people chose to send. I've seen this in the past, but neither of my sisters had. What a tender way to cuddle up in comfort long after the flowers are gone.
As the choir came in, each member paused to embrace the family. I was so touched. Their hugs and love were genuine. They began to sing, and I was immediately taken back to my childhood. In my heart and in my mind, I could remember every word. The peace and comfort began to flow over me.
A wonderful bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as we filtered into the cemetery.
After a few words at the cemetery, we all traveled up Rt. 174, past Aunt Betty and Uncle Dick's house, past Greg's house, all the way up to Porter Creek Fellowship Hall. When I walked in, I was taken aback by the tremendous amount of food that had been brought in.
I have never seen so much food at a funeral. Actually, I've never seen that much food at any of our church socials. The table seemed to go on for miles, sometimes three deep across the table. The dessert was located against the wall.
Some of was catered, most was homemade. My mind again returned to my childhood as I grazed my way through fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried corn, green beans picked that morning, cornbread, red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, stack cake, butterscotch pie, chocolate pudding, etc. I can't even begin to list it all. The sweet church ladies kept coming around asking if we got enough, and reminding us about the "to-go" boxes that were available.
I sat and talked with my aunt for a long time, my sisters sat with my uncle, who just couldn't eat. Greg's only child, Ericka, sat across from us with her little daughter, Skylan. Ericka couldn't eat, either.
Our hearts were broken as we left them for our trip back home. But, knowing the people in the eastern hills of Kentucky, my aunt and uncle and Ericka will be well taken care of in their grief, their sorrow, their long days to come. The church and neighborhood family will step in to be the comfort they need in our absence.
There are no more cousins on this side of the family. My uncle is my mother's only living brother out of a family of eight children. Mom was the oldest. Uncle Dick is next to the youngest.
This funeral brought sweet memories back to me - memories of being a little girl without a whole lot of understanding to a woman grateful for the experiences of childhood.
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