It’s said that a funeral will bring out the best and the worst in people. I was amazed at some of the folks who came to pay their respects to my dad when he passed. There were people I hadn’t seen in years, and folks who I know it was physically painful for them to come out on that September evening. But they came.

I’ve also seen fights break out at viewings and funerals. People choose some incredibly poor moments to make public some monumentally stupid event from the deceased’s past. Sometimes they decide now is the best time to let Aunt Susie know how much Dad hated her, or how Grandpa never forgave Uncle Joey for some slight. Family members start worrying about the estate, and who’s going to get what, and how that person doesn’t deserve anything, because they were never around for Dad, and Dad’s not even in the ground yet. It’s amazing and yet not, all at the same time.

Funeral directors (they prefer that over “mortician.” Honest.) in Cincinnati are noticing more problems with arguments and violence at funerals. I haven’t seen too many issues like that here in Columbus, but I suppose it’s coming.