Reading of Cletus starting a new story over at Compleat Redneck reminds me of a story from Mother's funeral.

For the convenience of all concerned, we decided to have the post-funeral gathering at my mother's house. My sister, Patricia, and I raced to the grocery in the morning to buy a few more things to serve, gathered what we had bought the night before, and charged around 635 to arrive at Mother's house at about 9:30 am. After we'd stored the things we brought, we had a little time to rest before going to the funeral home.

We heard a knock at the door, which was my nephew catching up with his mother. Then we heard another, unexpected knock at the door, and opened it to find Aunt Glenda, my father's sister, 80 years old and looking fine indeed. With her was Aunt Leona, 88, and looking pretty as always. (She has my grandmother's complexion, which defies sun, age and gravity.) They had gotten themselves lost in Dallas trying to find the funeral home and dropped by the house in hope that someone would be there.

We sat them down and offered them drinks. Glenda said she'd be happy to have a margarita. Can't blame her there, after an hour lost on Dallas roads. I told her no, it was only 10 am, and that she'd have to wait until after the service. (This is all teasing. Glenda probably has a margarita once a month, if that.)

We visited a little while, and it was time to go. At about that time, Glenda started on a story about her dog. Aunt Leona grasped her cane, got up from her chair and headed for the door. I followed to escort her down the drive. As we went out the door, Leona said, "She's started on one of her long stories. We'd better get going or we'll miss the funeral." We walked on down to the car. As I was opening the car door Leona said, "Glenda is losing her memory. She gets started on one of these stories and then I have to finish it for her. Who's going to finish my stories for me?" Then she laughed.

Bryan, my nephew, offered to drive and look after the ladies for the rest of the day. Did a handsome job of it, too.