As I sat alone on the edge of the pew, I realized I wasn?t. There, all around me were family, friends, and several people of whom I had only heard. Until that moment, I was frozen. Fixated on the flowers that lay on the coffin. Everything else in the world was gone. All the times he fell asleep in his chair, when I would hold his nose to make him wake up. All the baseball games we watched together. The trip to Yankee Stadium in his later years, the only time I ever saw him cry. All the times we went to the grocery store and I came back with nothing but candy. The hours we would walk the halls together when he couldn?t sleep. Even the recent late nights when he was tied to a hospital bed, begging me to undo the straps so he could go home. I knew all of this. But for one brief moment, I didn?t.

My grandfather and grandmother had a strong relationship. He loved her and she loved him. No

There was another side to the whole story as well. The fact that discrimination had not allowed me to voice my opinion was completely subscript to the fact that an injustice was to be done to everyone who attended the funeral. My grandfather was a great man and meant a great deal to many people. Without even realizing it, my family had taken away everyone?s chance to say goodbye. Face to face. This may not go down in history as one of the grave injustices of the world, but to me it was. I missed my chance to tell him what he meant to me.

Some years later, while I was away at school, I received a phone call telling me that my grandfather had passed. I remember feeling very at ease about it. I suppose you could say I saw it coming and was prepared. Or, one could make the argument that I was in shock and felt nothing at the moment I was told. I, to this day, do not know why I reacted the way I did. I knew I loved him. I knew he loved me. I knew he was my hero for many years. And know I knew he was gone.

When it came time for the funeral, there were more arrangements to be worked out than I had ever imagined. My family, still at odds with each other over the nursing home decision, came together once more to discuss the proceedings. Everything went well, and I remember that time as fondly as one can given the circumstances. All was well that is until the decision to have an open or closed casket. It was decided that he should not be seen. I protested immensely. I thought that that my grandfather deserved to be seen. It became clear to me that because I was not as old or, and I quote directly from my uncle, wise as everyone at the table, I would not be allowed to voice my opinion. This I didn?t understand, an

Some common words found in the essay are:
Bonnie Clyde, Shopping Network, Yankee Stadium, Injustice Injustice, West Texas, allowed voice opinion, loved loved, allowed voice, voice opinion,
Approximate Word count = 1160
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)