L U N A T A L K with Eva Moon

Ashes to Ashes, Lunch to…

November 20, 2008 on 3:25 pm | In General Musing |

True story, though details have been changed at the request of the parties involved.

A friend of mine loves sailing. He has a part-time share in a lovely sailboat and takes it out on the least provocation. No occasion is so trivial or insignificant that it’s not worth heading out to the marina. So it was no surprise that he volunteered to ferry a couple of acquaintances out to scatter their father’s ashes across the blue waters of Puget Sound this week. Dad had passed years ago and they were only just now getting around to it.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky day. When the breeze dropped to zero and the boat was becalmed, the moment seemed right. My friend watched respectfully from a few paces away as brother and sister stood on the deck.

The brother, S, never got along well with dad. The turbulent teens left a slightly bitter residue that never completely washed away. But so much time had passed now that his sister urged him to do the honors. Perhaps as a way to finally make peace. S held the urn in his hands and said a few words while the boat bobbed gently up and down. When he was done, he opened it and poured the ashes into the water.

The three stood there watching. It was so still that neither the boat nor the ashes drifted apart. The pause lengthened. Then S, without warning, was overcome by seasickness. He leaned over the side of the boat and puked.

Directly into the ashes of his father.

(Permission to share this story was texted from the deck of the boat)

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