Respect

Today I attended En's uncle Bill's funeral service. A bunch of people showed up. Obviously Bill's brother and sister were here (a far off one from Portland couldn't make it). Along with his sister was my father-in-law. My father-in-law's brother and a co-worker who played the bagpipes were in attendance as well. Even my mom was there.Bill's son was, of course, there -- he flew in from Montana where he teaches. His ex-wife was there too.A notable exception was Bill's daughter.She lives here in town. It doesn't take much to take an hour or two out of a busy day to pay your respects to a parent.Sure, there was tension between them. Tension doesn't cut it. He's not in a condition to talk back. Besides, the tension was caused by Bill not being completely well. You can hate what he does, but he's still your father. You've got one.Put on your big girl pants, swallow your pride, and sit in a pew in the back of the church if that's what it takes.