Even The Brief Encounters

I just got back from a funeral for a former coworker. Actually, I can't even call her that because we never really worked "together." We did similar jobs for different departments.

I didn't know her very well at all, really. In the last 24 hours I discovered that she has a brother, she was once married, she played a multitude of different musical instruments and apparently played them very well but was very humble about her talent, she loved animals of all kinds and that was a major focus in her life, she majored in languages in college and at least spoke German, and she was a scuba diver. So why did I go to her funeral?

I went to her funeral because I have known her for at least ten years and she was always a bright, positive and noticeable presence wherever she went. Each time we met she was always glad to see me. Not in the way that she was excited and loved to be around me. She always greeted me with a big smile and happiness in her voice like she was glad to know me, no matter how superficially. To tell the truth, I was glad to know her, too, no matter how superficially. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I attended a funeral to pay my respect to someone.