Rarely ever do I find myself in a funeral procession for someone I don’t know. Generally, if I’m going to the cemetery for the committal service, the person who has died was a family member or close friend . . . meaning I’m more focused on the loss than on my surroundings.  But recently, for reasons I won’t get into, I had that opportunity.

It was a small procession by some standards, four vehicles plus the hearse and the police escort. We did pick up another escort car as we passed under a traffic light, so he brought up the rear after assuring we were all safely through the intersection.  Our journey took us down a residential street, through a stop sign and two red lights, and into the midst of the road construction on Pickwick.  And all along the way I watched as people reacted to our presence.

We only met one car on College Street and it immediately pulled over and waited as we passed. There was a lawn service working in one of the yards and they stopped their equipment as we approached, waiting patiently . . . quietly . . . as we drove by.  At the intersections traffic from all directions came to a halt as we slowly moved through first one light, then the next.  Even the construction equipment on Pickwick ceased operation and a dump truck pulled over.

I know we often say the world doesn’t stop for Death, but there are moments when it really does, and this was one of those moments. Everyone we approached briefly hit the pause button on life so they could pay their respects to a person they had never met and a family in mourning.

I wondered if the family noticed. I wondered if they realized the significance of this one small act of kindness on the part of so many strangers.  In a world that always seems to be in a hurry, simply stopping for that brief moment is a gift that many might overlook but one that speaks volumes, for it says that someone cares.  Someone knows your pain, even if they don’t know you.

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