The Outsider

I was asked to attend a funeral of man that I'd never met... everyone that ever cared about him under one roof crammed into one small room he in turn crammed into a small box a box within a box within a box. As i knelt down and looked into the box, I thought of the things that his eighty year old heart must have gone through both the sparkle and the blue. I thought about the few million miles he walked from here to there and back again..to make ends meet to provide for his family... I thought about what kind of man he really was... the room was filled with grief so i assumed he must have been a pretty decent man but you never really know. I thought about him looking down at the one outsider in the room, wondering if his spirit could sense that I was somewhat indifferent... though i tried to match the ripples of grief in the room I failed.... until i saw the small bowling trophy tucked beside him.... An old man in a box with a humble symbol that brought him a measure of joy in his long earthly journey... i felt a small ripple come over me and was no longer an outsider I felt honored that Joe and I had finally met.