THE MOURNERS LEFT VERY QUICKLY

Today while visiting an elderly faithful member of the Church in a Baltimore hospital, we heard a most unusual true story during our conversation with Keith who is the patient's son. He told us about his very first experience with death more than 60 years ago. I should point out that America was a much different place in the early 1950s as Sister Lindsay and I can personally attest to based upon our own life's experiences from way back then. People of color were mostly identified as Negroes; and in much of society, segregation between the races was relatively common.

Keith's grandfather was working as a custodian at a local public school; and one of his co-workers, a Negro, had just passed away. Grandfather decided that he should take Keith who was just a young child and attend the man's viewing that was being held at the deceased person's residence, an old country farmhouse.

The viewing was held in the front room of the house

When the little boy and his grandfather arrived to pay their respects, the front room was filled to capacity with family, neighbors and friends of the deceased; but the two of them were the only white people present. The simple wooden casket was positioned over two heavy boards that extended into the room through a window from outside that had then been closed to keep the lumber in place. 

The people were all singing gospel music and swaying in rhythm together; when all of a sudden, without any warning, the casket began to move up and down irratically as if the departed had come back to life. Startled and perhaps a bit frightened, the mourners collectively scrambled out of the house as quickly as they could make their way through the front door.

Keith and his grandfather were suddenly and unexpectedly all alone. When they walked outside the building, the two of them discovered what had caused the casket to move. A very large hog had determined that those heavy boards holding the casket in place inside also made an excellent backscratcher when  rubbed from underneath where they overhung the building outside!