My friend's dad who we dearly loved had diabetes and poor circulation. He could never get warm enough, so we set his room up with zone heating and an air duct to the wood stove in the basement. His dad could grow orchids in that room, but when he'd go out into the rest of the house he'd be cold again. He'd sneak over and bury the dial on the thermostat for the main part of the house, then forget to turn it back when he returned to his room. For years my friend and I had a running joke about the heating oil bill. We poked fun at how his dad was getting carpal tunnel from turning up the thermostat, how my friend didn't need a cellar light because the cherry red glow from the burner was illumination enough, how the smoke coming from his chimney looked like the Bismarck at flank speed, etc.,etc. "What's the Honeywell set for today?' was a common topic of conversation. One day I heard the news that his dad had passed on. I headed straight to Home Depot, then for my friend's house. He looked exhausted, but broke into a long belly laugh when I handed him a Honeywell round thermostat for his dad. Everyone who knew his father knew why it was set for 90 deg., and sitting on the lid of the casket at the wake. It brought a smile to many faces on a sad day.
Sometimes humor at a funeral can warm the heart.
2 comments:
this is v heartwarming...reminds me of my mom's funeral. it was a happy occasion with all her friends there. we had good stories to share, she's such an awesom person.
Such a great story, so well told.
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