A week ago Matt's aunt went home to be with the Lord. I regret I did not get to meet her; she was a remarkable woman, and I look forward to meeting her in Heaven.
Family and friends drove from Kentucky and Ohio to Michigan to pay their respects. Although a funeral is an unfortunate time to meet family, Matt's family welcomed me with hugs and food and stories of "down home." His family showed me love in their time of grief, so I was truly distressed by the disrespect they received as they drove his aunt to her final resting place.
According to Michigan law a funeral procession has the right-of-way. A driver who fails to yield to a funeral procession can be ticketed and given two points on their license.
Fifty percent of the cars we passed pulled to the side of the road as expected. Another 15 percent pulled to the side but kept moving.
Thirty-five percent of the cars drove past without any sign of respect.
The funeral procession numbered twenty-five cars. Has our society become so self-centered that drivers cannot take a minute (or less) to honor the dead? Or give courtesy to the living? Even the threat of a ticket was ineffective to stop these individuals.
I am troubled by the failure to respect other people's loss. Is etiquette a lost art?
Sorry to hear about Matt's aunt. :( I know what you mean about rude drivers... We heard an ambulance the other day and pulled over but as the ambulance came up to us, we realised that it was stuck behind a slow-moving car that wouldn't pull over. I could believe it! Someone could have died because one jerk couldn't get out of the way. :(
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