OT - What are you doing right now?

Darby_Crenshaw said:

I had a funeral to work yesterday, and just thought I would share this story.  I wrote it up for my brothers, who I emailed this morning, hence the elusive capitals and punctuation....  But I thought it might be worth sharing. 

I occasionally get calls from a local funeral parlor's director, now a good friend, to play grave side (bag pipes) at services for the indigent, homeless, vets,  those with no family. I do it for free for those cases.

I got a call one day asking if i could accompany him at a service for a homeless veteran. He was a well known fixture, but no one really 'knew' him. and apparently he had no known family. He died after a long illness in the veteran's hospital where apparently no one had visited him.  No one claimed the body.

Now, nine times out of ten the services are at the same large municipal grave yard. This time though the burial was to be an hour out of city in a small semi-rural town.

I drove there with time to spare. Typically ten minutes early.

I got lost.

I drove around looking. Plenty of time. Nothing. I retraced my route, tried to get a signal on my phone. Nothing. Panicking, I drove down a street I'd already tried when i spotted a group in a far corner of a field over a small rise. I'd missed them the first time by

I ran. Out of breath (I'm a heavy man) and got to them only to see i was too late.

The workers, two men, and a backhoe, were already at the grave. The funeral director was gone. I could see the concrete vault was already half covered. I felt horrible.  I'd missed it.

The men were drinking water when i got to them. I said "i'm sorry i'm so late. Would you mind if i played anyway?"

They looked at each other, then at me, kilt and bagpipes and all, then at each other, and shrugged.

I stood a foot from the edge of the hole. Usually I am off a bit away, to create a more distant echo effect. But not today.

I played the old standard. Amazing Grace.

No one should die alone like he did. Alone surrounded by strangers I mean. Without family. A veteran, poor and homeless.

I played like I had never played before. Sometimes it can feel mechanical. But this time, this poor man... it really took hold of me. I admit it. I started to tear up, but I just played louder and more deeply, fighting the tears back, eyes closed.

The men stood and took off their hard hats.

I played and played. I started to cry openly, but kept playing. They began to cry too, just the three of us in that field around the grave. We were silent for a full minute afterward. I was out of breath. The men looking down. sniffing.  Now all of us a little self conscious.

The older man put his hard hat back on. Wiped his eyes and glasses with a bandana.  Head down a bit sheepishly he looked up at me, in the eye. Held out his hand.

I took it and he clasped it with his other hand. And said...

"I've never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for damn near forty years"

kl8ton said:

Hopefully my father-in-law doesn't mind me using his car lift for my Jeep build

Eggcelsior said:

kl8ton said:

Hopefully my father-in-law doesn't mind me using his car lift for my Jeep build

Come on Barbie, lets go party...

Darby_Crenshaw said:

The top and bottom chords of the truss are 2x4s. 

Stronger than dimensional lumber by far

Darby_Crenshaw said:

The truss comprises 2x4s

top and bottom chords are 2x4s

Although 2x4s are (technically) dimensional lumber, no one would ever confuse them for capital-D Dimensional capital-L Lumber, i.e. Anything you'd use for a floor joist

which means this floor is not framed from 2x4s "on flat" as Nola hastily assumed. Rather it is a floor with truss-joist framing. Which trusses just so happen to be made from 2x4s.  

Which is very different

you can't frame a floor of any significant span with 2x4 dimensional lumber

but you can sure as hell span a decent distance with a truss comprising 2x4s

(ex-architect with a concentration in structural engineering)