The Whitneys
  • Ken & Kari Whitney
  • Ken
  • Kari

Bagpipes

10/6/2014

1 Comment

 
A friend of mine died unexpectedly last week at the young age of 42, suddenly widowing a friend and rendering his two children fatherless. Beyond this unfathomable tragedy, he was not only a good person, but a heroic and humble man--a firefighter, school volunteer, patriot, and more.

The funeral was on Saturday and I was struck by the sheer number of emergency services personnel in dress uniform, the polished emergency vehicles from multiple counties, the enormity of the American flag hanging between two ladder trucks, the filled-to-capacity parking lot, the flawless orchestration of many firefighter-cum-parking attendants, and the wave-after-wave of attendees from all walks of life flowing out of vehicles and into the auditorium. All this before we'd even parked our car.

Inside was a more predictable, but nevertheless painful, procession of events. Guest books and soothing music. Receiving lines and displays of personal effects. Lots and lots and lots of mourners. We signed in, greeted some friends, and found seats among other friends.

I will not detail the entire service, but it was truly beautiful and honoring. There were testimonials, slideshows, service traditions, and more. And toward the end there were bagpipes.

In truth, when I heard there would be bagpipes, I knew I would appreciate the tradition of the music, but that I wasn't necessarily looking forward to it anymore than I would, say, a beginning band performance.

But then, I had never heard THESE bagpipes for THIS purpose.

They played Amazing Grace and they hit perfect notes and they harmonized perfectly and the drums rolled a perfect light thunder and they crescendoed and they decrescendoed... until the listener realized... I realized that the primary fading notes were traveling farther and farther away, much as Jason, who carried an important melody for all of us, had also gone away.


I cannot adequately describe the service no more than I can wholly describe grief. I hope Jason knew in life how valued and loved he was. I hope everyone can know how valued and loved they are.


[The video above was not taken by me, but was shared on Facebook. It was taken after the service, at a pub gathering in Jason's honor. While it's not the haunting version from the service, it shows the talents of Eastside Firefighters Pipes and Drums.]
1 Comment

    Kari's Blog

    About Kari

    Read with me!

    Reamde
    About a Boy
    The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
    The Bells
    The Interestings
    Hiroshima
    Small Gods
    Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

    Categories

    All
    Aging
    Arts & Crafts
    Books & Libraries
    Education
    Food & Drink
    Humor
    Juneau
    Organization
    Parenting
    Philanthropy
    Reviews
    South Sound
    Technology
    Thrift
    Writing & Language

    Archives

    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    December 2012
    October 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    October 2009

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Paeonia*, gagilas, afoncubierta