So I headed out to Carp on Friday afternoon to go to Jamie’s wake. Carp is this village outside of the Ottawa boundary (or is it part of the mega-city now? I’m not sure) but either way, I had to stop and get directions at one point after traveling around the village and not finding the funeral home. I finally found it and I should have known it would be the spot where the entire street had cars parked alongside it.
I made my way to the front door with a bit of embarrassment as I had taken off my dress shoes at work and it wasn’t until I was at the funeral home that I realized that I had my sneakers on. Oh well…it’s not like Jamie would mind (at least I hope not!).
There was quite the lineup into the place and I stood in line for about 30 minutes before getting in sight of the room. I saw Paul there and we chatted for a bit. I must admit that the funeral conversations are…awkward. I mean, here are these people whom I haven’t seen in years and the only times I’ve ever really seen them is at Matt’s cottage party or other areas of fun. So there really isn’t much to say in a case like this…we asked what we were both doing in life now and commented a little about Jamie but overall, it was just awkward. I think it’s awkward because I felt like we couldn’t have a true conversation at the moment and talk about any new films we’ve seen or when’s the last time you’ve seen ‘so-and-so’.
I made my way through the line and shook hands with the family and paid my respects. I didn’t hang around too long. I must admit that it shook me a little to see someone my own age having passed away. I didn’t think it would shake me but it did. I’ve only seen older people who have passed on so it was kind of a shock.
Oh yeah! I forgot my original intent for this thought…the line-up! I had heard that the line-up was just as long during the evening as well. This got me thinking that it’s crazy how many people you are affiliated with if you grew up in the same town forever. For example, Jamie grew up around the Ottawa area so there’s a lot of history there…which equals A LOT of people who show up to pay their respects. I really couldn’t get over the number of people there. Then I thought about my own funeral (which tends to happen for me in these circumstances) and thought that I have this scattered number of people that I know…whether it is family or friends, but they are all across a widespread area. Anyhow, I just thought it was great that A LOT of people came out to pay their respects to such a great guy.
I chatted with Scotty on my way out and quickly said hello to Steve and Ken who were at the back of the line. It was good to see them and hopefully I’ll see them in a different setting in the near future.
Random Note: I loved how Jamie’s cowboy boots were on a pedestal. That’s him, through and through. Rest in peace Jamie.