Just got back. Terrible experience for me, but my daughter seemed to handle it pretty well. The Cathedral was filled with kids and they all seemed to be taking if very well except for the deceased's sister. Just talked to a colleague who experienced a similar event in the 5th grade. He says he did not feel it the same way as he would now. I didn't know either the child or the family but I feel as if I have run a marathon. The eulogists were as erudite as anyone I have ever heard and while I would never want to produce a homily in these circumstances, the priests words, that we did not deserve the gift of the child to begin with and now God has taken the child back, seemed cruel enough to divert me from my grief. I found some respite by participating in a centuries old ceremony for dealing with death.

The first story I heard was that the boy died while decorating the yard for Halloween. Perhaps it too was an accidental hanging. Nobody is talking about how the death occured.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13